Assessment of heavy metal contamination in leafy vegetables: implications for public health and regulatory measures.

Heavy metal contamination in leafy vegetables poses significant health risks, highlighting the urgent need for stringent monitoring and intervention measures to ensure food safety and mitigate potential adverse effects on public health. This study investigates the levels of heavy metals, including cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu), in locally grown and commercially available leafy vegetables, comparing them to the safety limits established by WHO/FAO. The results revealed that levels of Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb in the vegetables exceeded WHO/FAO limits, while Zn and Cu remained within permissible bounds. Marketed vegetables exhibited higher metal concentrations than those from nearby farms. For Cu (0.114-0.289 mg/kg) and Zn (0.005-0.574 mg/kg), the daily intake of metals (DIM) was below the dietary intake (DI) and upper limit (UL). Cd's DIM (0.031-0.062 mg/kg) remained below the UL but exceeded the DI. Marketed kale and mint surpassed both DI and UL limits for Ni, while local produce only exceeded the DI. All vegetables had DIM below the DI, except for mint and kale. For Pb, every vegetable exceeded DI limits, with market samples contributing significantly. Cr's DIM ranged from 0.028 to 1.335 mg/kg, for which no set maximum daily intake exists. The health risk index (HRI) values for Zn, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Pb suggested potential health risks associated with leafy greens, while Cr's HRI was below 1. The study underscores the need for stringent monitoring and intervention measures to mitigate the health risks posed by heavy metal contamination in leafy vegetables. These findings suggest that consuming these leafy greens may put consumers at considerable risk for health problems related to Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn exposure.

Risk Factors of Wasting-Based Malnutrition in the Flood-Affected Areas of Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The current study aimed to find the risk factors of wasting in flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data was collected. Children living in large family are 2.59 times more likely to be wasted (AOR = 2.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10, 6.10; p value = .029) and children living in medium size family are 2.23 times more likely to be wasted (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.03, 4.80; p value = .04) as compared to children in small family size. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions to address the identified risk factors and mitigate the impact of flooding on child nutrition.

Functional analysis of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in potato under biotic and abiotic stress.

Biotic and abiotic stresses are the main constrain of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production all over the world. To overcome these hurdles, many techniques and mechanisms have been used for increasing food demand for increasing population. One of such mechanism is mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, which is significance regulators of MAPK pathway under various biotic and abiotic stress conditions in plants. However, the acute role in potato for various biotic and abiotic resistance is not fully understood. In eukaryotes including plants, MAPK transfer information from sensors to responses. In potato, biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as a range of developmental responses including differentiation, proliferation, and cell death in plants, MAPK plays an essential role in transduction of diverse extracellular stimuli. Different biotic and abiotic stress stimuli such as pathogen (bacteria, virus, and fungi, etc.) infections, drought, high and low temperatures, high salinity, and high or low osmolarity are induced by several MAPK cascade and MAPK gene families in potato crop. The MAPK cascade is synchronized by numerous mechanisms, including not only transcriptional regulation but also through posttranscriptional regulation such as protein-protein interactions. In this review, we will discuss the recent detailed functional analysis of certain specific MAPK gene families which are involved in resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses in potato. This study will also provide new insights into functional analysis of various MAPK gene families in biotic and abiotic stress response as well as its possible mechanism.

Biomonitoring of Toxic Metals in Feathers of Birds from North-Eastern Pakistan.

The current study was designed to determine the concentrations of toxic metals (Ni, Pb and Cr) in feathers of birds collected from four regions of NE Pakistan. Feather samples of birds (House Crow, Common Myna and House Sparrow) were collected from different areas. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the concentration of metals in feathers. Analysis of the data revealed that concentrations of Pb and Cr were significantly different (p < 0.05) among bird species, whereas no difference (p > 0.05) was detected among bird species (house crow, common myna and house sparrow) for Ni. A significant difference was found for the concentration of Pb and Ni in all the four studied regions. Whereas, non-significant difference was found in all the studied regions for the concentrating of Cr. It was revealed that there is significant rising concentration of metals (Pb, Cr) in feathers of birds in Azad Kashmir.

Conservation tillage: a way to improve yield and soil properties and decrease global warming potential in spring wheat agroecosystems.

Climate change is one of the main challenges, and it poses a tough challenge to the agriculture industry globally. Additionally, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the main contributor to climate change; however, croplands are a prominent source of GHG emissions. Yet this complex challenge can be mitigated through climate-smart agricultural practices. Conservation tillage is commonly known to preserve soil and mitigate environmental change by reducing GHG emissions. Nonetheless, there is still a paucity of information on the influences of conservation tillage on wheat yield, soil properties, and GHG flux, particularly in the semi-arid Dingxi belt. Hence, in order to fill this gap, different tillage systems, namely conventional tillage (CT) control, straw incorporation with conventional tillage (CTS), no-tillage (NT), and stubble return with no-tillage (NTS), were laid at Dingxi, Gansu province of China, under a randomized complete block design with three replications to examine their impacts on yield, soil properties, and GHG fluxes. Results depicted that different conservative tillage systems (CTS, NTS, and NT) significantly (p < 0.05) increased the plant height, number of spikes per plant, seed number per meter square, root yield, aboveground biomass yield, thousand-grain weight, grain yield, and dry matter yield compared with CT. Moreover, these conservation tillage systems notably improved the soil properties (soil gravimetric water content, water-filled pore space, water storage, porosity, aggregates, saturated hydraulic conductivity, organic carbon, light fraction organic carbon, carbon storage, microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen storage, microbial biomass nitrogen, total phosphorous, available phosphorous, total potassium, available potassium, microbial counts, urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, cellulase, and catalase) while decreasing the soil temperature and bulk density over CT. However, CTS, NTS, and NT had non-significant effects on ECe, pH, and stoichiometric properties (C:N ratio, C:P ratio, and N:P ratio). Additionally, conservation-based tillage regimes NTS, NT, and CTS significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the emission and net global warming potential of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) by 23.44, 19.57, and 16.54%, respectively, and decreased the greenhouse gas intensity by 23.20, 29.96, and 18.72%, respectively, over CT. We conclude that NTS is the best approach to increasing yield, soil and water conservation, resilience, and mitigation of agroecosystem capacity.

Assessment of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Implementation and Strategies Used for IPC Preparedness at Facility Level in Underdeveloped Areas of Pakistan.

Background: During outbreaks of infectious diseases like COVID-19, the healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) pose a burden on public health system. There are very limited data about infection prevention and control (IPC) implementation in the healthcare facilities of Pakistan. The aim of the study was to conduct assessment with the IPC Assessment Framework (IPCAF) tool in healthcare facilities of the least developed areas. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 12 tertiary level healthcare facilities (HCF) located in the least developed provinces of Pakistan. The facilities were selected through multistage cluster random methods. A well-structured questionnaire, the "IPCAF tool", was used for data collection. The IPCAF comprises eight sections with a 100 score of each section, thus with a maximum score of 800. The scores from 0 to 800 of the HCFs were divided into four gradual ratings through IPCAF, ie from inadequate to advanced. Results: The median score of all facilities was 405, with a range from inadequate to advanced. One facility (8.3%) fell into the "inadequate" category with a score of 172.5; 5 (41.6%) facilities achieved "basic" category, another 5 (41.6%) being "intermediate", and only one (8.3%) hospital achieved "advanced" status. Region-wise median score of facilities of GB was 307.5, facilities in AJK scored 342.5, and a score of 520 was found for health facilities in KPK. The components of Education and Training, HCAIs Surveillance, and Multimodal Strategies achieved the lowest scores. Conclusion: Most of the facilities have developed an IPC program with key focal persons and IPC committees, but did not have relevant education and training. IPC core capacities are being implemented. Equitable attention is required on all eight components of IPC in all facilities.

Coordination strategies and concept of operations implemented during activation of public health emergency operations center for COVID-19 response in Pakistan.

Public health emergency management systems encountered difficulties in developing countries, especially in Pakistan. The COVID-19 pandemic was extremely challenging for different agencies/departments in Pakistan. Health emergency management depends on a well-established public health emergency operations center that could generate a coordinated response to emergencies. We conducted an assessment of public health emergency response coordination implemented during the COVID-19 at strategic level. This was mix-method qualitative study. Primary data was collected by using a structured questionnaire, and secondary data was collected by desk review. The agencies engaged in pandemic response at the national level in Pakistan were included in the assessment. The overall score of the emergency response coordination system during COVID-19 was 49% for all agencies. We found that agencies faced challenges in leadership, legislation, and financing issues during the pandemic response (44%). None of the agencies had a fully developed framework for joint planning and response system for health emergencies. Roles and responsibilities attached to designated agencies in response were relatively clear (55%) for most of the agencies. Effective public health emergency response is based on multi-departmental coordination, resource mobilization, and clear roles for each agency. Pakistan must proactively address these challenges for pandemic response in future.

Comparative Gene Enrichment Analysis for Drought Tolerance in Contrasting Maize Genotype.

Drought stress is a significant abiotic factor influencing maize growth and development. Understanding the molecular mechanism of drought tolerance is critical to develop the drought tolerant genotype. The identification of the stress responsive gene is the first step to developing a drought tolerant genotype. The aim of the current research was to pinpoint the genes that are essential for conserved samples in maize drought tolerance. In the current study, inbred lines of maize, 478 and H21, a drought-tolerant and susceptible line, were cultivated in the field and various treatments were applied. The circumstances during the vegetative stage (severe drought, moderate drought and well-watered environments) and RNA sequencing were used to look into their origins. In 478, 68%, 48% and 32% of drought-responsive genes (DRGs) were found, with 63% of DRGs in moderate drought and severe drought conditions in H21, respectively. Gene ontology (GO) keywords were explicitly enriched in the DRGs of H21, which were considerably over-represented in the two lines. According to the results of the GSEA, "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis" was exclusively enriched in H21, but "starch and sucrose metabolism" and "plant hormone signal transduction" were enhanced in both of the two lines. Further investigation found that the various expression patterns of genes linked to the trehalose biosynthesis pathway, reactive oxygen scavenging, and transcription factors, may have a role in maize's ability to withstand drought. Our findings illuminate the molecular ways that respond to lack and offer gene resources for maize drought resistance. Similarly, SNP and correlation analysis gave us noticeable results that urged us to do the same kind of analysis on other crops. Additionally, we isolated particular transcription factors that could control the expression of genes associated to photosynthesis and leaf senescence. According to our findings, a key factor in tolerance is the equilibrium between the induction of leaf senescence and the preservation of photosynthesis under drought.

The role of nanoparticles in plant biochemical, physiological, and molecular responses under drought stress: A review.

Drought stress (DS) is a serious challenge for sustaining global crop production and food security. Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as an excellent tool to enhance crop production under current rapid climate change and increasing drought intensity. DS negatively affects plant growth, physiological and metabolic processes, and disturbs cellular membranes, nutrient and water uptake, photosynthetic apparatus, and antioxidant activities. The application of NPs protects the membranes, maintains water relationship, and enhances nutrient and water uptake, leading to an appreciable increase in plant growth under DS. NPs protect the photosynthetic apparatus and improve photosynthetic efficiency, accumulation of osmolytes, hormones, and phenolics, antioxidant activities, and gene expression, thus providing better resistance to plants against DS. In this review, we discuss the role of different metal-based NPs to mitigate DS in plants. We also highlighted various research gaps that should be filled in future research studies. This detailed review will be an excellent source of information for future researchers to adopt nanotechnology as an eco-friendly technique to improve drought tolerance.

Use of public health emergency operations center (PH-EOC) and adaptation of incident management system (IMS) for efficient inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration for effective control of Dengue fever outbreak in Pakistan - 2019.

Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PH-EOC) and Incident Management System (IMS) provides a platform for inter-sectoral coordination, and collaboration to enhance efficiency of response activities and help in effective control of disease outbreaks. Dengue fever (DF) is an emerging serious public health threat with a potential to transform into a public health emergency. Pakistan faced a heavy outbreak of Dengue fever (DF) from August to December 2019. National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad activated its Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PH-EOC) with an objective to implement principles and practices of IMS for control of the outbreak. The challenges during inter-sectoral collaboration for response activities were also identified. PH-EOC was activated on 16th September 2019, and remained operational for next 81 days till 05th December 2019. Incident management structure, incident action plan (IAP), and risk communication plan was developed and executed during this phase. Daily morning and evening meetings were held during all operational days. Federal and provincial health departments, district health offices (DHO), and government/private hospitals were coordinated for collection of the data pertaining to Dengue confirmed cases and deaths. As of 05th December 2019, a total of 52,877 confirmed Dengue cases were reported from all across Pakistan with maximum cases reported from Rawalpindi and Islamabad collectively i.e. 20,988 (40%), followed by Karachi 14,768 (28%), and Peshawar 2,699 (5%), while AJK reported 1,690 (3%). A total of 92 deaths happened all across Pakistan, out of which 43 (47%) happened in Karachi, 23 (25%) in Rawalpindi, and 22 (24%) in Islamabad. The response was coordinated through NIH based PH-EOC, but was carried out by relevant federal and provincial district health offices, vector surveillance programs, dengue control programs and sanitation departments respectively. As a part of response plan, vector surveillance, larva source management, and insecticidal spraying i.e. both fogging and indoor residual spraying activities were carried out in hotspots or the areas where confirmed cases were reported. Sanitation departments daily reported the removal of additional 80-100 ton of solid waste from hotspot areas. Hospitals were coordinated for reporting of isolation of DF patients and provision of quality clinical management for admitted patients. The International Federation for Red Cross/Crescent conducted community awareness, and covered 28,800 households in affected areas of Islamabad. Conversely, the DF outbreak was controlled 02-03 weeks ahead of previous years trends. All the coordinated activities were incorporated in a daily situation report (SitRep) and this was widely distributed among all the stakeholders through emails. Additionally, the data was displayed on the dashboard in PH-EOC. The data dashboard at PH-EOC served as an information management hub that visually mapped, tracked, analyzed, and displayed clusters of DF cases and hotspots. Accordingly, SitRep substantiated as the main reporting tool to monitor response activities initiated by rapid response teams at the national and subnational level. The inter-sectoral coordinating efforts made among concerned line departments resulted in a timely response leading to effective handling of a national public health threat. The information distilled from this experience was that the early and judicious activation of PH-EOC with adaptation of IMS under decision making leadership resulted in a well-managed and prompt response executed by different departments/stakeholders, and effective control of the outbreak before its transformation into a public health event/emergency of national or international concern.

Effect of Azadirachta indica (neem), sodium thiosulphate and calcium chloride on changes in nitrogen transformations and inhibition of nitrification in soil incubated under laboratory conditions.

A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) neem seed-cake (Azadirachta indica) (NSC), sodium thiosulphate (Na2S2O3) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) on changes in NH4(+)⁻N, inhibition of nitrification and recovery of applied nitrogen (N) in soil. Surface soil samples of 0-15 cm were collected from an arable field, amended with urea N (UN) at the rate 200 mg N kg⁻¹, UN+NSC, UN+Na2S2O3 and UN+CaCl2 and incubated at 22°C periodically over 50 d. Soil without any amendment was used as check (control). Results indicated that more than 58% of N applied as NH4⁻ disappeared over a period of 50 d from the soil mineral-N pool. Some of this N (21%) was accumulated as NO3⁻-N while the remaining N was unaccounted for. Addition of nitrification inhibitors NSC, Na2S2O3, and CaCl2 resulted in a decrease in the extent of NH4(+) disappearance by 35%, 44% and 30%, respectively. In the treatment receiving UN alone, 56 mg NO3⁻-N kg⁻¹ was accumulated over 50 d (maximum 93 mg kg⁻¹) indicated an active nitrification. Application of nitrification inhibitors NSC, Na2S2O3, and CaCl2 with UN inhibited nitrification by 54%, 64%, and 59%, respectively. Apparent N recovery (ANR) in the treatment receiving UN alone was 63% that substantially increased to 83%, 89% and 76% in the treatments receiving UN+NSC, UN+Na2S2O3, and UN+CaCl2, respectively indicating 32%, 41% and 20% increase in N recovery. Among three NIs tested, Na2S2O3 proved superior in inhibiting nitrification and increasing ANR. The study demonstrated that application of NSC, Na2S2O3, and CaCl2 which are cheap and easily available NIs inhibited nitrification and improved N recovery efficiency of applied N in an arable soil very effectively. It is suggested that these inhibitors should be tested under field conditions for increasing NUE and improving crop productivity.