Aflatoxins in bird feed collected from various areas of Lahore city

The objective of this study was to estimate total aflatoxin in bird feed. Total 50 birds feed samples were collected from different markets and birds shops in Lahore. Total aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, and G2 were estimated using the Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) method. The daily intake of aflatoxin in bird's feed is a 300ppb threshold by FDA. Total 50 samples were examined, among them 22% were contaminated with aflatoxin B1 and B2 and the rest of 40% samples were contaminated only with aflatoxin B1. Aflatoxin G1 and G2 were not detected in any feed. The results showed that 42% of samples were contaminated within the permissible limit, 20% were unfit due to having above the allowable limit, and 38% were fit, which did not show any aflatoxin. The current study has demonstrated the easy way of providing the determination of aflatoxin in bird’s feed. Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.56(4), 249-254, 2021

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Urban Expansion And Future Growth Patterns Of Lahore, Pakistan

Lahore, a metropolis and 2nd largest city of Pakistan, has been experiencing rapid urban expansion over the past five decades. The socio-economic development and growth of the urban population have caused the rapid increase of urban expansion. The increase in the built-up area of Lahore has seen remarkable growth during the past five decades. This study is aimed at detecting the Spatio-temporal changes in land use land cover and evaluating the urban expansion of Lahore since 1973. The conversion of land to other uses is primarily because of growth in urban population, whereas the increase in economic activities is the central reason for the land-use changes. In this study, temporal Landsat imageries were integrated with demographic data in the GIS environment to quantify the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use land cover (LULC) changes and urban expansion of Lahore city. The supervised image classification of maximum likelihood algorithm was applied on Landsat MSS (1973 and 1980), TM (1990), ETM+ (2000), TM (2010), and OLI/TIRs (2020) images, whereas a postclassification comparison technique was employed to detect changes over time. The spatial and temporal analysis revealed that during the past five decades, the built-up area of Lahore city has expanded by ~ 532 km2. It was found from the analysis that in Lahore city the urban expansion was primarily at the cost of loss of fertile agricultural land, vegetation, and other cultivable land use. The analysis further revealed that the structure and growth pattern of Lahore has mainly followed road network and linear expansion. The results indicate that this accretive urban expansion is attributed to socio-economic, demography, conversion of farmland, rural-urban migration, proximity to transportation routes, and commercial factors. This study envisions for decision-makers and urban planners to devise effective spatial urban planning strategies and check the growth trend of Lahore city.

Psychosocial and Behavioral Risk Factors of Early Onset of Ischemic Heart Disease among the Patients Presenting at a Tertiary Care Hospital

This study investigate the psychological, behavioral, anthropometric, and social factors that may cause a possible early onset of Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) at a tertiary care hospital. Case-control research design was used in the present study. The present study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Lahore city, Punjab, Pakistan. Patients in the cardiology ward of a tertiary care hospital in Lahore City aged between 35-55 years were included in the study.

Prevalence of Dysphagia in Children with Cerebral Palsy”: A Multicenter Study in Lahore

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of dysphagia in children with cerebral palsy. Materials and Methods: A sample of 105 children with cerebral palsy age between four and sixteen years, were selected from cerebral palsy centers in Lahore. Out of these children almost all were with spastic cerebral palsy. Data was collected by using a questionnaire filled by the caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. This questionnaire constitutes questions regarding swallowing difficulty of CP child and their eating & feeding patterns to determine the prevalence of dysphagia. Results: Result indicated that out of 105 children’s caregiver with cerebral palsy 36(34.3%) responded affirmatively that their children have swallowing difficulty and 69(65.7%) responded negatively that their children have no swallowing difficulty. Conclusion: The findings suggested that prevalence of dysphagia in children with cerebral palsy is 34.3% in Lahore city.

Improvement of Writing Skills Among Students With Hearing Impairment Using the Cognitive Model: An Experimental Study

Being a vital aspect of literacy, writing skills have great importance in the academics of students with hearing impairment. Improvement in writing skills is one of the prominent purposes of school education. Limitations in hearing impact the writing skills of students with hearing impairment (SWHI) in addition to reading skills. The present study was designed to highlight the writing problems of SWHI and to improve their creative writing skills using a cognitive model of teaching writing skills proposed by Flower and Hayes. The true experimental research design was used to see the impact of cognitive-based teaching strategies on the writing skills of SWHI. Pretest, treatment, posttest design were used to conduct this study. The targeted population for this research was SWHI studying in the grade 7th in the schools of Lahore city. A total number of 10 SWHI of Grade 7th was selected from one school in Lahore city. An equal number of students were assigned to control (N=5) and experimental group(N=5). Four different types of instruments were used to conduct the study. The experiment was conducted in one school in Lahore city for two months. The treatment comprised of instructional strategies developed in the light of Flower and Hayes's model of cognitive development. The study explored a statistically significantdifference between the writing skills of the students of the experimental group (EG) than the writing skills of the control group's students. The writing skills of students who belong to EG have upgraded after receiving treatment. The study recommended the use of cognitive-based strategies for the improvement of writing skills of students with hearing impairment.

Physiochemical Alterations and Air Pollution Tolerance Index in Ficus religiosa L. Planted Along Polluted Roadsides of Lahore City

Air pollution is among the nastiest form of pollutions causing vexation over the globe. The recent situation of eco-toxicity showed that whole planet is facing this misery explicitly or implicitly. The essence of this enigma is rapid urbanization and industrialization. Global developmental activities, deforestation, uncontrolled industrial emission and increase in vehicular load made this environment unfit for healthy life. This research work explored the effect of air pollution on Physiochemical attributes of Ficus religiosa L. planted along the polluted roadsides of Lahore city. Leaf area, ascorbic acid contents (AAC), total chlorophyll content (TCh), pH of leaf extract, relative water contents (RWC), and dust accumulation on leaves surface were measured using standard methods. Air Pollution Tolerance Index was computed, and the results were compared with the control plants from Changa Manga forest, 70 Km away from Lahore city in cleaner locality. Several Physiochemical alterations in F. religiosa growing in polluted arias were observed, including average leaf area (1367�14.25mm2), AAC (0.68� 0.021 mg/g), TCh (8.50� 0.017) pH of leaf extract (7.17�0.018), RWC (92.5�0.076 %), and dust accumulation on leaves surface (0.0716�0.00063 mg/cm2) compare to control. The recorded average APTI value (10.32�0.023) was higher in the plants grown along the polluted roads compared to controls (9.39�0.012). It is concluded from the results that air pollution tolerance level of F. religiosa was higher along the polluted roads of Lahore. It depicts that they are considerably affected the prevailing air pollution.

Isolation of Multi Drug Resistant Escherichia coli from drinking water of Lahore City, Pakistan

Background: The major faecal coliform is Escherichia coli which contaminates the drinking water from human and animal faecal waste. In developing regions drinking water is a vital source of microbiological pathogens. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) is defined as resistance to one or more antibiotic groups. An E. coli count greater than 4/dl in municipal drinking water is indicative of unacceptable fecal contamination. Aim: To find out the frequency of MDR E. coli in water system of Lahore, Pakistan. Methodology: Drinking water was collected from different towns of Lahore. The samples were processed using Membrane Filtration Technique. In the present study, Multidrug Resistant E.coli was isolated and antibiotic resistant pattern was seen against 16 most commonly antimicrobials, using Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Results: Total 100 water samples were collected, frequency of Escherichia coliisolated was 27% and frequency of MDR E.coli was 19%. The highest resistance showed by the organism towards Ampicillin (AMP) 21(81.48%), Augmentin (AMC), and Ceftazidime (CAZ) 14(51.85%) respectively. In this study also frequency of Extended Spectrum β-Lactamases were seen. Most common organisms isolated were E. coli 7% and Klebsiella 5%. Frequency of other coliforms isolated from drinking water other than E. coli was Klebsiella species 26%, Pseudomonas species 27%, Enterobacter 7%, Citrobacter species 8% and Acinetobacter species 5%. Conclusion: This study revealed that drinking water of Lahore city is heavilycontaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. A high proportion of antibiotic resistant is due to overuse of antibiotics, in patients with mild infections and secretion of these resistant bacteria from patients to environment. One of the reasons could be the mixing of sewage lines with drinking water supply. So, there is solely requirement for further studies for the identification of the sources for these contaminants. Keywords: Isolates, E. coli, Klebsiella, Multi-drug resistant (MDR)