A novel assessment of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in water and sediment samples from the Indus River, Pakistan: An ecological risk assessment approach.

Pakistan, a country with limited water resources and highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, faces numerous challenges in managing its water supply. In this sense, this study assessed potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the surface water and sediments of Pakistan's Indus River and its tributaries. Key water quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS) were determined, with respective average values of 7.

Synthesis of calix (4) resorcinarene based amphiphilic macrocycle as an efficient nanocarrier for Amphotericin-B to enhance its oral bioavailability.

The supramolecular-based macrocyclic amphiphiles have fascinating attention and find extensive utilization in the pharmaceutical industry for efficient drug delivery. In this study, we designed and synthesized a new supramolecular amphiphilic macrocycle to serve as an efficient nanocarrier, achieved by treating 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde with 1-bromotetradecane. The derivatized product was subsequently treated with resorcinol to cyclize, resulting in the formation of a calix(4)-resorcinarene-based supramolecular amphiphilic macrocycle.

Effect of citrus peeling (Citrus sinensis) on production performance, humoral immunity, nutrients, and energy utilization of broiler quails.

Citrus citrus peeling has a wide range of vitamins and trace minerals that have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. It is hypothesized that the addition of citrus peeling to broiler quail diets can improve their production performance, humoral immunity, nutrients, and energy utilization. A trial was performed to study the impact of a methanolic extract of citrus peeling (Citrus sinensis) on production performance, humoral immunity, nutrients, and energy utilization of broiler quails.

Growth Optimization and Rearing of Mealworm ( L.) as a Sustainable Food Source.

As a sustainable food source for humans, mealworms () have a great deal of potential, due to the fact that they have a very favorable nutritional profile and a low environmental impact. For meal production, feed formulation and optimization are important. The mealworm (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is the most consumed insect in the world.

Effect of dietary inclusion of mealworm frass on growth, hematology, and serum biochemistry of sheep.

Frass is the main component of worm by-product which exhibit anti-microbial and anti-pathogenic properties. In the present study, we assessed the possibility of mealworm frass in sheep feeding regime and evaluated its effect on health and growth performance of sheep. A total of 09 experimental sheep (18-24 months of age) were grouped into three categories (T1, T3, and T3); each group comprised 3 animals including 2 males and 1 female.

Impact of varying housing systems on egg quality characteristics, fatty acid profile, and cholesterol content of Rhode Island Red × Fyoumi laying hens.

The present study was designed to study the effects of conventional and free range systems on egg quality attributes, fatty acid profile, and cholesterol contents of laying hen. Two hundred and forty R1 cross of Rhode Island Red (RIR) × Fyoumi (F) layers during the peak production were divided into two groups and reared in two different housing systems (free range vs. conventional systems).

Spirulina inclusion levels in a broiler ration: evaluation of growth performance, gut integrity, and immunity.

Spirulina has been used as a food source from many years for human and animals because of its superior profile of nutrition. Spirulina (SPA) having antiviral activities can boost immune system, and better nutritional profile can increase growth performance by improving gut morphology. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of spirulina supplementation in ration on the humoral and cellular immune response, gut histomorphology, and economics of broiler production.

Does the gradual replacement of spent silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupae affect the performance, blood metabolites and gut functions in White Leghorn laying hens?

Spent silkworm pupa is a valuable source of alternative protein in poultry production. Usually the spent silkworm pupae are wasted and may cause environmental pollution and off smell. This feeding experiment was performed to determine the gradual increase of silkworm substitution of soybean on the egg production performance, serum biochemistry and intestinal histological features of White Leghorns laying hens.

Responses of morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings to atrazine stress.

Atrazine is a synthetic herbicide applied to control broadleaf weeds in different crops. In many parts of the world, atrazine is mainly applied for controlling weeds in maize fields. However, studies on the possible adverse effects of atrazine on maize crop can hardly be found in literature.

A low latency and low power indirect topology for on-chip communication.

This paper presents the Hybrid Scalable-Minimized-Butterfly-Fat-Tree (H-SMBFT) topology for on-chip communication. Main aspects of this work are the description of the architectural design and the characteristics as well as a comparative analysis against two established indirect topologies namely Butterfly-Fat-Tree (BFT) and Scalable-Minimized-Butterfly-Fat-Tree (SMBFT). Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed topology outperforms its predecessors in terms of performance, area and power dissipation.

Bioinformatics analysis and transcriptional regulation of TORC1 gene through transcription factors NRF1 and Smad3 in bovine preadipocytes.

Intramuscular fat is the an important factor that defines meat quality; however, enhancing its deposition without increasing the other three adipose depots (subcutaneous, visceral, and intermuscular fat) is a challenge for animal science and the meat industry. The TORC1 is a key regulator of adipogenesis and its regulation in bovine intramuscular preadipocytes has not been studied. The TORC1 is a member of the gene family that codes for a binding proteins which regulate transcription of cAMP which, is a key regulator of adipogenesis.

Kanamycin detection at graphene quantum dot-decorated gold nanoparticles in organized medium after solid-phase extraction using an aminoglycoside imprinted polymer.

This is a description of the indirect determination of kanamycin sulfate though the photoluminescence enhancement of an aqueous dispersion of amino-functionalized graphene quantum dots (amino-GQDs) coupled with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in a cationic surfactant-rich medium. Specifically, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was used as the cationic surfactant in our work. Previously, solid phase extraction with a cartridge packed with aminoglycoside-selective imprinted polymer ensured selectivity in kanamycin determination in yellow-fever vaccine and veterinary pharmaceutical samples.

Phytotoxic effects of two commonly used laundry detergents on germination, growth, and biochemical characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings.

Laundry detergents, a mixture of different compounds, are used as washing agents in houses and cleaning agents in institutions and industries. As a result, industrial and domestic wastewater usually contains detergent contamination in variable amount. In many developing countries, untreated municipal and industrial wastewater is used for irrigation of crops.

Gold nanoparticles coupled with graphene quantum dots in organized medium to quantify aminoglycoside anti-biotics in yellow fever vaccine after solid phase extraction using a selective imprinted polymer.

The determination of kanamycin sulfate was made indirectly by measuring its effect on photoluminescent amino functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQDs-amino) associated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that were produced by the reduction of AuCl with NaBH in an aqueous dispersion of GQDs-amino (obtained by the pyrolysis of citric acid and glutathione) also containing the cationic surfactant CTAB. The AuNPs-GQDs-amino-CTAB system presents a suppressed photoluminescence that is amplified in the presence of kanamycin. Under optimized experimental conditions, the photoluminescence amplification of the nanomaterial system showed a linear response as a function of kanamycin concentration, covering three orders of magnitude (10 to 10 mol L).

Short Communication - Study on quality and efficacy of commercial tylosin and doxycycline products against local isolates of mycoplasma in broilers.

The present study was conducted to investigate the quality and efficacy of commercially available preparations of tylosin and doxycycline available in the local market at Peshawar for poultry. In vitro and in vivo, tests were conducted to check the quality of these antimicrobial drugs. In vitro quality control test was performed by High performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) and micro dilution method.

In vivo effects of Allium cepa L. on the selected gut microflora and intestinal histomorphology in broiler.

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of onion (Allium cepa L.,) on the performance, gut microflora and intestinal histomorphology of broiler chicks. Three hundred and twenty day old broiler chicks (Ross) were randomly divided into four groups as A, B, C and D.

Growth performance and meat quality of rabbits under different feeding regimes.

This study evaluated the growth, carcass characteristics and meat quality of indigenous rabbits in northern Pakistan. Weaned rabbits (age 35 days, weight 323 g) of four distinct phenotypes (white, black and white, brown and black) were fed four experimental diets: alfalfa hay (AH), berseem fodder (BF), BF supplemented with low-level concentrate (50 %; LLC) and high-level concentrate (75 %; HLC). Each experimental diet was fed to 48 rabbits, 12 of each phenotype, in a randomized complete block design.

Performance traits and immune response of broiler chicks treated with zinc and ascorbic acid supplementation during cyclic heat stress.

This research was conducted to investigate the effect of supplementation of zinc (Zn) and ascorbic acid (AA) in heat-stressed broilers. A total of 160-day-old broiler chicks of approximately the same weight and appearance were divided into four treatment groups (control, T1, T2, and T3). Control group was fed a standard diet without any supplementation.

Spectrofluorimetric determination of tetrabenazine after photochemical derivatization in basic medium.

Photochemical derivatization is proposed for the spectrofluorimetric determination of tetrabenazine (TBZ). A central composite design was used to adjust experimental conditions (60 min of UV in a 0.45 mol L(-1) NaOH solution) enabling the improvement of the analyte signal-to-blank ratio of one order of magnitude, when compared to the TBZ original fluorescence.

Feed supplementation prevents post-conception decline in milk progesterone concentrations associated with production stress in dairy buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis).

The onset of pregnancy may be associated with hormonal changes and decline in milk yield of buffaloes. To investigate this, forty lactating buffaloes from 1st to 23rd weeks post-conception were selected. The animals were assigned to three treatments: PRT, PRS, NPRT and three milk yielding groups HMY, 66 to 75 l/week, n = 12; MMY, 56 to 65 l/week, n = 16; LMY, 46 to 55 l/week, n = 12).