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The present study was designed to investigate the mycological contamination and aflatoxigenic potential of fungi isolated from the indigenous certified varieties of wheat. Surface spread method was used to determine mycological contamination whereas to determine the toxigenic potential of isolated fungi and screening of wheat grains for aflatoxin contamination thin layer chromatography was used. All the collected samples revealed fungal contamination however none of the fungal isolate showed aflatoxigenic potential. Similarly all the samples showed negativity for aflatoxin. It can be concluded that for human public health, cereal grains must be subjected to quality control and mycotoxicologicalexaminations.

Anemia is associated with poor health outcomes, and the prevalence of anemia is a significant public health indicator for both developed and developing countries. Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common type of anemia, which often develops during pregnancy. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban areas of Quetta city among the women of reproductive age (15-49 years) to update the status of IDA in the region. The study participants ( n = 216 ) were selected on a random basis, and the samples were further distributed by age. Overall, 75% of females were nonanemic, and among those that were anemic, 2% were severe, 13% were moderately, and 10% were mildly anemic. Among the IDA-affected women, 83% were non-pregnant. Age-wise distribution of IDA revealed no significant difference among different age groups, but numerically higher observations were recorded in the age groups of less than 30 years. The highest number of moderately IDA-affected women (15%) were in the age group 15-19 with the following IDA indicating parameters: hemoglobin 9.64 g/dl, mean corpuscular volume 63.11 fl, mean corpuscular hemoglobin 20.40%, red cell distribution 19.28%. This study will be beneficial for illustrating the requirement and the development of a program to raise extended awareness in the Quetta communities to overcome the negative health effects of IDA on the female population.

— Using wastewater for agricultural irrigation presents potential risks to public health and the environment. The aim of this study was to compare the microbial burden and nutritional components of cabbage grown in fresh and wastewater in Quetta, Pakistan. Cabbage samples randomly collected from fields irrigated with fresh and wastewater sources were analysed for viable bacterial and fungal counts, pH and vitamin contents. There was a significant difference in viable bacterial (3.0 × 106, 1.9 × 107 CFU g-1) and fungal (2.4 × 103, 1.0 × 105 CFU g-1) counts for cabbage grown in fresh and wastewater, respectively. There were no significant differences in pH (7.88/7.86) and contents of the vitamins thiamin (0.31/0.30 mg/100 g), riboflavin (0.05/0.04 mg/100 g), niacin (0.56/.54 mg/100 g), pyridoxine (0.13/0.12 mg/100 g) and ascorbic acid (57.00/56.60 mg/100 g). Results demonstrated that cabbage grown in wastewater had a significantly higher microbial burden than cabbage grown in fresh water, although there were no significant differences in nutritional components of cabbage from the different water sources. These observations emphasise the potential dangers to public health in using wastewater for agricultural irrigation.

BACKGROUND: Endotracheal intubation outside the operating room (OR) is mainly performed by intensive care (IC) physicians and emergency department (ED) physicians. We hypothesized that difference in practice patterns exists between these two groups of physicians. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on all endotracheal intubations that were performed out of OR over a fi ve year period at our health care facility. Practice patterns of IC and ED physicians were compared regarding use of (a) video laryngoscopy, (b) paralytic agents, (c) waveform capnography, and (d) use of larger size of endotracheal tube (internal diameter ≥ 8 mm). RESULTS: A total of 201 patients underwent out of OR intubations over a 5 year period. IC physicians used more often than ED physicians video laryngoscopy (67% vs. 49%; p = 0.008), waveform capnography (99% vs. 86%; p = 0.001) and larger size endotracheal tubes (95% vs. 60%; p < 0.001). Conversely, paralytic agents were used less frequently by IC than ED physicians (12% vs. 51%; p < 0.001). The success of fi rst intubation attempt was higher by IC than ED physicians (82% vs. 67%; p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: IC physicians more often adhered to currently considered preferable practices for endotracheal intubation than ED physicians in this single center retrospective study. Although larger scale studies are needed to unveil the effects of different practice patterns on short and long term outcomes, the present study identifi es opportunity to bridge practice gaps that could lead to improved outcomes.

Background: Malrotation of gut presenting in adolescents and adults though rare but exists. Also its presentation is nonspecific. Hence its diagnosis needs high index of suspicion. Material and methods: This prospective study was done the of department of surgery SMHS hospital at GMC Srinagar over a period of 5.5 years from July 2012 to December 2017.The patients included all the adolescent and adult patients who proved to be cases of malrotation of gut on intraoperative visualisation. Results: During the study period of 5.5 years, a total of 14 patients with malrotation of gut (belonging to adolescent and adult age group) were recorded. Age of the patients ranged from 16 to 54 years with an average of 26.21± 11.15years (SD=11.149). Majority of the patients belonged to adolescent age group. Preoperatively CT (computed tomography) was done only in 4 patients, thereby making the diagnosis of malrotation preoperatively in these 4 patients. In all other patients, the diagnosis was made only after laparotomy (done for acute abdomen) and intraoperative visualisation. Ladd´s procedure was done successfully in majority of patients with two patients requiring resection of gangrenous small bowl with stoma formation. Conclusion: Malrotation of gut presenting in adolescents and adults is a rare phenomenon and also the symptoms are similar to several other abdominal pathologies, hence it represents a diagnostic challenge. Hence a high index of suspicion is needed to diagnose this rare entity early without undue delay, so as to avoid or limit further complications .Threshold for CT scan should be kept a little low in suspicious cases so as diagnose and intervene in time. Well trained senior person should be involved during the surgical intervention of this rare condition. Further studies and reporting is needed to get familiar with this rare condition. Key words: Malrotation; adolescents and adults; Ladd´s procedure; gangrene.

Genetic diversity among four indigenous breeds of sheep namely Mengali, Balochi, Beverigh and Harnai of Balochistan was detected by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Nineteen RAPD primers were initially applied and seventeen were chosen for further analysis, based on band pattern quality, reproducibility and presence of bands. An average of 92 RAPD fragments were obtained by using 17 primers and out of the 36 fragments (39.13%) illustrated monomorphism while, 56 bands (60.87%) were polymorphic in all the four sheep breeds. The number of bands amplified in all the sheep breeds ranged from 2 to 10. The highest number of polymorphic loci 40 was observed in the Mengali breed, while the lowest 28 was in Balochi. Further, 33 and 31 polymorphic loci were seen in Beverigh and Harnai breeds, respectively. The overall gene diversity was highest in the Mengali (0.1474) while the lowest in Balochi breed (0.0998). Results of genetic similarities showed closer proximity between Balochi and Beverigh (0.992), Balochi and Harnai (0.992), and between Beverigh and Harnai (0.996). The resemblance was observed between Mengali and Balochi (0.918), between Mengali and Beverigh breeds (0.931) and between Mengali and Harnai breeds (0.925). The high level of genetic similarity between Balochi, Beverigh and Harnai sheep indicated the close relationship that might be due to common habitat. Further the present study highlighted the presence of diversity among and within breeds that can be used in the selection or crossbreeding programs of sheep. The present study suggests that RAPD-PCR can effectively be used to determine the genetic distances among the sheep breeds. Key words: Genetic distance, polymorphism, random amplified Polymorphic DNA.

White leghorn layer (n=2740), with 85weeksof age, were submitted to forced molting by fasting for 13 days and changes in body characteristics and subsequent laying performance during second laying cycle were evaluated. Live body weight (LBW),ovary weight (OW), oviduct weight (OvW) and oviduct length (OvL) were measured before and after fasting. Post-fasting restricted feeding was applied, initially feeding crushed corn with added 2% Ca for 20 days and thereafter layer crumble feed was offered. Layers lost 632.16g (36%) of their LBW and significant reductions of 45.32, 47.53 and 54% were observed in post-fasting/molt OW, OvW and OvL, respectively (p