Environmental risk assessment of diclofenac residues in surface waters and wastewater: a hidden global threat to aquatic ecosystem.

Pharmaceuticals are chemical compounds employed as medicinal drugs. They have severe physic-chemical properties which make them destructive for non-target species. Consequently, their continuous addition in the environment may pose hazardous effects.

Home-based rehabilitation of severely malnourished children using indigenous high-density diet.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of a 'high-density diet made from indigenous ingredients.

Methods: The retrospective study was carried out from September 2009 to May 2010 in District Sanghar, Sindh, Pakistan. A field office was established and staff was recruited and trained.

Phylogenetic history of paralogous gene quartets on human chromosomes 1, 2, 8 and 20 provides no evidence in favor of the vertebrate octoploidy hypothesis.

Fourfold paralogy regions in the human genome have been considered historical remnants of whole-genome duplication events predicted to have occurred early in vertebrate evolution. Taking advantage of the well-annotated and high-quality human genomic sequence map as well as the ever-increasing accessibility of large-scale genomic sequence data from a diverse range of animal species, we investigated the prediction that the ancestral vertebrate genome was shaped by two rapid rounds of whole-genome duplication within a period of 10 million years. Both the map self-comparison approach and a phylogenetic analysis revealed that gene families identified as tetralogous on human chromosomes 1/2/8/20 arose by small-scale duplication events that occurred at widely different time points in animal evolution.

Trends in breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in Pakistan, 1990-2007.

Background: Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices have profound implications for the maternal and child health status of a society. Feeding practices in Pakistan are suboptimal, leading to adverse outcomes on child health. In Pakistan, the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Program, in collaboration with several international organizations, including WHO and UNICEF, is working to improve these feeding practices in the country.

Association between maternal age and pregnancy outcome: implications for the Pakistani society.

Maternal age at conception has long been demonstrated to have a significant correlation with pregnancy outcome and maternal health. Classically, very young (<20 years old) and old (= or >35 years) women have been classified as high-risk categories for child bearing. Recently, career, education, financial, and other goals have coerced women to delay childbearing all over the world.