Publications by authors named "Shazia Sultana"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on analyzing the palynoflora of the Murree formation to explore how climate and vegetation have changed over time using microscope techniques.
  • A total of 31 samples were examined, identifying a variety of palynomorphs, with Asteraceae as the most dominant family and notable findings including the genus Pinus.
  • The research highlighted the importance of angiosperms, especially noting their abundance in the Miocene epoch, and emphasized how Holocene samples can provide insights into the area's vegetation origins and environmental changes.
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The species of the subfamily Polygonoideae is an essential component of temperate forests as well as the flora of the western Himalayan region. The aim of this research was to explore the taxonomic diversity, distribution patterns, and associated flora of Polygonoideae in relation to edaphic factors in various ecological zones in the Muzaffarabad division of the Kashmir Western Himalayan Region. We applied a random sampling approach for data collection from 10 different sites with a cumulative 780 quadrats to record the diversity of wild Polygonoideae species across the Muzaffarabad division between 2021 and 2022.

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  • - The study reports on the pollen characteristics of 50 species within the Asteraceae family, focusing on nine tribes, with Cichorieae, Cardueae, Inuleae, and Anthemideae being the most represented.
  • - Microscopic techniques were used to identify key pollen traits that help distinguish species, noting specific aperture types and surface sculpturing patterns across the specimens.
  • - Statistical analyses such as PCA and ANOVA revealed significant relationships and correlations between various pollen dimensions and structural features, offering insights into the taxonomy of these plants.
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Background: is a leading cause of acute watery diarrhea, dysentery, and diarrhea-attributed linear growth faltering, a precursor to stunting and lifelong morbidity. Several promising vaccines are in development and field efficacy trials will require a consortium of potential vaccine trial sites with up-to-date diarrhea incidence data.

Methods: The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) surveillance study will employ facility-based enrollment of diarrhea cases aged 6-35 months with 3 months of follow-up to establish incidence rates and document clinical, anthropometric, and financial consequences of diarrhea at 7 country sites (Mali, Kenya, The Gambia, Malawi, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Peru).

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Background: Comparative costs of public health interventions provide valuable data for decision making. However, the availability of comprehensive and context-specific costs is often limited. The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) surveillance study-a facility-based diarrhea surveillance study across 7 countries-aims to generate evidence on health system and household costs associated with medically attended diarrhea in children.

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Article Synopsis
  • Molecular diagnostics have revealed a higher prevalence of shigellosis from human fecal samples than traditional culture methods, highlighting the need for improved identification of its causes.* -
  • The study involves testing dried blood spots for specific antibodies to determine immune responses in individuals with shigellosis and comparing these responses among various case types to identify patterns.* -
  • The findings aim to enhance our understanding of shigellosis, establish baseline immunity, and ultimately aid in the development of effective vaccines against diarrhea.*
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Article Synopsis
  • The EFGH surveillance study aims to accurately estimate diarrhea incidence in children aged 6-35 months by considering both the population at risk and those who don't seek medical care.
  • It will utilize a combination of facility-based surveillance and population-based surveys to determine the size of the target population and healthcare-seeking behaviors.
  • The study design addresses challenges like discrepancies in coverage, seasonal changes, and variations in health-seeking behavior to improve the accuracy of its findings over a 24-month period.
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Background: Rigorous data management systems and planning are essential to successful research projects, especially for large, multicountry consortium studies involving partnerships across multiple institutions. Here we describe the development and implementation of data management systems and procedures for the Enterics For Global Health (EFGH) surveillance study-a 7-country diarrhea surveillance study that will conduct facility-based surveillance concurrent with population-based enumeration and a health care utilization survey to estimate the incidence of -associated diarrhea in children 6 to 35 months old.

Methods: The goals of EFGH data management are to utilize the knowledge and experience of consortium members to collect high-quality data and ensure equity in access and decision-making.

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This study provides a comprehensive pollen micromorphology within the Nepeta genus, revealing intricate details about the pollen grains' structure and characteristics. The findings shed light on the evolutionary and taxonomical aspects of this plant genus, offering valuable insights for botanists and researchers studying Nepeta species. The pollen grains of 18 Nepeta species were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM) in Northern Pakistan.

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Introduction The most significant element in halting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic was the availability of reliable and efficient vaccines. Vaccine acceptability is influenced by many factors, including perceptions of the vaccine's safety and side effects. Adverse reactions to vaccines can vary with regard to the type, although they are frequently mild, localized, temporary, and self-limiting.

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Rotavirus vaccines have substantially decreased rotavirus hospitalizations in countries where they have been implemented. In some high- and middle-income countries, a low-level of increased risk of intussusception, a type of acute bowel obstruction, has been detected following rotavirus vaccination. However, no increased risk of intussusception was found in India, South Africa, or a network of 7 other African countries.

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This study examines the role of light microscopic (LM) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) micromorphological traits of the epidermis in identifying and classifying invasive plants. SEM was conducted to increase our understanding of microscopic qualities that are not visible in light microscopy and to elucidate unclear affinities among invasive species. The study examines invasive species' morphological and anatomical characteristics from the Pothohar Plateau of Pakistan for the first time.

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Nomenclatural types for twenty-nine names belonging to the genus are typified and discussed. The following names are lectotypified: Engl. & Gilg, Munby, Engl.

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Due to the diverse and rich taxa, Asteraceae needs to explore from the untouched area. In this study, the pollen study was intended to assess the taxonomic value for Asteraceous taxa growing on the Sikaram Mountain Pak-Afghan border. Both microscopic techniques (LM and SEM) play a significant role in the identification and classification of herbaceous species of Asteraceae for their taxonomic and systematic implication.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study emphasizes the need for improved honey processing techniques like ultrafiltration to meet increasing honey demand, allowing for the selective filtering of sugars and quality assessment of honey.
  • - By analyzing 24 honey samples labeled from different plant species (Acacia, Eucalyptus, Ziziphus), researchers identified key pollen sources, confirming their botanical origins through membrane technology, which revealed a variety of honeybee foraging species and their respective pollen counts.
  • - The findings highlight the effectiveness of honey ultrafiltration in validating botanical sources and ensuring honey purity, suggesting it as a reliable method for distinguishing unifloral honey types and addressing issues of honey adulteration.
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This research examined the histological micro-structure of tendril vasculature in cucurbitaceous taxa. In this research, the tendril anatomy of 17 taxa of Cucurbitaceae categorized into seven genera, including (five species), and (three species each), Citrullus and Momordica (two species each) while Lagenaria and Praecitrullus (one species each), collected from different areas of the Thal desert were examined via microscopic imaging to explore its taxonomic significance. Tendril transverse sections were cut with a Shandon Microtome to prepare slides.

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Introduction of waste and non-edible oil seeds coupled with green nanotechnology offered a pushover to sustainable and economical biofuels and bio refinery production globally. The current study encompasses the synthesis and application of novel green, highly reactive and recyclable bismuth oxide nanocatalyst derived from Euphorbia royealeana (Falc.) Boiss.

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Membrane technology has been embraced as a feasible and promising substitute to the traditional technologies employed for biodiesel synthesis which are energy and time consuming. It needs less energy, has high stability, is environmentally friendly, and is simple to operate and control. Therefore, in our current study membrane technology was employed to synthesize biodiesel from Toona ciliate novel and non-edible seed oil.

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Puerperal sepsis is an important cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Awareness of local terminology for its signs and symptoms may improve communication about this illness, what actions to take when symptoms appear, timely care seeking, and clinical outcomes. This formative research aimed to improve recognition and management of postpartum sepsis in Pakistan by eliciting local terms used for postpartum illnesses and symptoms.

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Background: Typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) has recently been introduced in the expanded program for immunization (EPI) in Pakistan. Before its introduction in routine immunization, a onetime catchup campaign among children 9 months to 15 years old was conducted in November 2019. We performed field evaluation of TCV against culture confirmed Salmonella Typhi (S.

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Invasive alien species (IAS) are considered as the second major threat to biodiversity after habitat destruction worldwide. They are aggressive competitors and dominate an ecosystem where they introduce and cause reduction in indigenous diversity. Invasive plants alter the evolutionary pathways of native species by competition, niche displacement, hybridization, introgression, predation, and ultimately extinction of native species.

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We confined the formation and characterization of heterogenous nano-catalysts and then used them to produce biodiesel from the novel non-edible seed oil of . seeds' oil content was extracted at about 52.4 ± 3% with 0.

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Microscopic visualization of micro-morphological characters were analyzed using a scanning electron microscopic (SEM) tool, which has proven to be very successful to analyze the pollen surface peculiarities. The significant goal of this research was to perform microscopic examination of pollen of some of the most frequently visited honeybee floral species around apiaries. Micro-morphological characterization of frequented honeybees foraged plants were discussed.

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In this work, Dodonaea oil was studied as a potential biodiesel source. Dodonaea ( Jacq.) is an evergreen shrubby plant that thrives in tropical and subtropical conditions.

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Membrane technology has been adopted as a prospective and promising alternative to the standard technology used for biodiesel production since the time when it had some limitations. During this research project, the inedible seed oil generating feedstock known as Saussurea heteromalla was put through a biodiesel production process that utilized membrane technology with an effort to increase the yield of methyl ester. The transesterification process was mediated by zirconium oxide nanoparticles that were generated using an aqueous extract of Portulaca oleracea leaf.

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