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The intricacies of relay-aided device-to-device (D2D) communication within the novel fluctuating two-ray (FTR) model is inspected in this study. Two cases with respect to co-channel interference are considered here, in case A, co-channel interferences due to unmanned aerial vehicles affect the relay while at the D2D receiver, the co-channel interferences follow the FTR model. In case B, interferences due to unmanned aerial vehicles affect the D2D receiver and the relay now experiences interferences over the FTR channels. The channel of a co-channel interference due to unmanned aerial vehicle is assumed to be a recently proposed single-shadowing based composite fading model. Further enhancing operational efficiency, the D2D receiver incorporates a power splitting mechanism for power harvesting. In this analysis a characteristic function-based approach is applied, which serves as the foundational cornerstone for deriving expressions that govern the outage and success probabilities. These intricate expressions are connected with critical factors, such as the dynamics of path-loss phenomena, the spatial separation between the interferers and the relay, the varying distances between the interferers and the D2D receiver, and the physical gap bridging the relay and the D2D receiver. Building upon the derived expressions, an extensive numerical analysis unfurls them for both interference cases.

Abstract Apple, a vital fruit crop worldwide and a major crop grown in northern parts of India, acts as a backbone for the survival and livelihood of the farming community. However, it is prone to severe damage from insect pests and diseases. In the past few years, due to erratic weather patterns, there has been an alarmingly increased infestation of different insect pests, both invasive and non-invasive, resulting in substantial economic losses to this industry. One similar case was seen in the Himalayan region of India, where the apple crop in Karewas was heavily damaged by some invasive fruit borer, feeding on pulp and making galleries to reach the seed locules, thereby destroying the seed material. To ascertain the true identity of this pest, a study based on morpho-molecular characterization of this pest was carried out in the Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, SKUAST Kashmir, India, during the years 2021 and 2022. The invasive fruit samples were collected from apple orchards at different locations (experimental sites) in North India by installing delta sticky traps @ 5 traps/ha for moth collection. The fruit-boring larvae and pupa were also collected and reared in confined chambers of the laboratory with controlled temperature and humidity. All the laboratory investigations were conducted at the Division of Entomology, FoA, Wadura, SKUAST Kashmir. During the investigation, it was confirmed that the invasive borer is a codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.), a member of the family Tortricidae, order Lepidoptera, which was earlier having quarantine importance in India, as it was only present in the Ladakh region of India. From the phylogenetic analysis of sample sequences, the species of codling moth present at all experimental sites was more identical to the codling moth sequence from Leh (the northernmost arid region), India. Further, the study of life cycle and voltinism revealed that codling moth completes three generations per year in Kashmir, with a single cycle lasting up to 2.5 months. However, the timing of various generations varies, depending on prevailing weather conditions at specific locations and times. The number of generations completed by codling moth in Kashmir conditions during apple growing season was three full and a half overwintering generations. The study of the life cycle of this important pest was necessary to know the weak link for its effective management and to prevent the economic loss in apple fruit.

This article presents heat transfer analysis at the walls of a circular heated obstacle under the influence of force and natural convection in a triangular domain. The circular obstacle is fixed at the center of triangular domain. The circular obstacle and the inclined walls differ in temperature (Th>Tc). The flow and heat transfer in the computational domain are caused by lid movement and temperature gradient. The triangular cavity is filled with air. The physical setup is described in terms of a system of differential equations. The dimensionless equations are solved using the Finite Volume Method (FVM). The results are computed for various flow controlling variables and presented in the form of isotherms, contours, tabular values and curves. The finding reveals that larger Reynolds number and Grashof number tend to higher heat transfer at the surfaces of heated obstacle. The average Nusselt number is noted to be maximum at w1 in the third quadrant when compared with the other walls of the heated obstacle. The results are compared with literature results in the limiting case.

Reliable estimates of how human activities may affect wildlife populations are critical for making scientifically sound resource management decisions. A significant issue in estimating the consequences of management, development, or conservation measures is the need to account for a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, such as land use and climate change, that interact over time altering wildlife habitats and populations. The snow leopard Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775), as a vulnerable species, is extremely sensitive to indirect impacts of climate change. Given that it is highly difficult undertaking conservation measures on the entire range of snow leopards, identifying hotspots for conservation is necessary. This study was conducted in Bagrot and Haramosh valleys, in the Trans-Himalayan region, to evaluate the impacts of climate and human pressure on snow leopard habitat. Hybrid classification of Landsat satellite data for 2010 and 2020 was performed to elucidate land use changes that suggested a decrease in permanent snow by 10 % and 3 % in Haramosh and Bagrot while an increase in settlements cover by 16 % and 23 %, respectively. Life zone comparison for 2010 and 2020 using the Holdridge life zone (HLZ) classification system disclosed a change from three life zones to five life zones in Haramosh, and four life zones to five life zones in Bagrot, caused by a temperature increase of 2°C to 3°C, indicating that the area is becoming more and more suitable for settlements and less favorable for snow leopards. This study underlines again that mountainous regions are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Warming weather is making survival more difficult for snow leopards. Although they are resilient to the direct effects of climate change, indirect impacts like avalanches, flash floods, urbanization, and human-wildlife conflict make them more vulnerable and threaten their survival. Thus, we recommend establishing further protected areas, better controlling illegal wildlife trade, and conducting genetic studies to understand impacts on snow leopards and rangeland management, livelihood improvement, and human-wildlife conflict reductions.

Background: Wild canids form an important component of the ecosystem but are generally less studied and least prioritized for conservation. Diet is fundamental for effective management and exhibits the role of a species in an ecosystem. Golden jackal (Canis aureus, Linnaeus, 1758), a medium-sized canid species is known for opportunistic and omnivorous foraging behavior. Methods: This research investigates the feeding ecology of golden jackals within the Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Himalayas. From August 2020 to July 2022, trails (n = 9; 1.5–5.5 km) were walked seasonally (once per month) to collect fecal samples (n = 128) for investigation of seasonal diet composition and dietary niche breadth and biomass consumption of prey items by golden jackal. The association between the coefficient of digestibility value and food items was assessed using the Pearson correlation. We also conducted PCA to understand contribution of major dietary items. Results: Scat analysis revealed that jackals feed on both animal and plant matter. Animal matter constituted most of the diet, encompassing small mammals and domestic livestock, insects, and birds. Rodents emerge as the dominant dietary item, maintaining consistent prevalence year-round. Livestock carrion, notably domestic sheep formed a significant component across all seasons, with maximal consumption observed in summer. Notably absent from the jackals' diet were traces of threatened mountain ungulates. Domestic sheep emerged as the primary contributor (33.4 %) to the overall biomass consumed, highlighting the jackals' interaction with human-associated food resources. The research unveils an overall dietary niche breadth of 0.38, indicating a low degree of dietary diversity. Seasonal analysis indicates heightened dietary overlap in the autumn-summer transition, with rodents, domestic sheep, and birds being major contributors to this overlap. Conclusion: The findings underscore the adaptability of golden jackals to diverse food resources in a seasonal environment. This study provides foundational insights into the dietary ecology of jackal crucial for its conservation and management strategies in the ecologically fragile ecosystem. The finding gives a hint at the role jackals can play in regulating rodent populations and contributing to environmental cleanliness by scavenging.

Electrospinning provides a simple and versatile method for generating ultrafine fibers from a rich variety of materials that include polymers, composites, and ceramics. Find applications in various fields, including tissue engineering, filter media, reinforcement in nanocomposites, and micro/nano-electro-mechanical systems. In this study the polystyrene fibers in 10%, 20% and 30% (w/v) in THF: DMF solvents were characterized by ATR-FTIR, AFM and SEM. The obtained fibers exhibited a smooth surface with fine structures, emphasizing a ribbon-like morphology with bead-like features within the range of 3 µm to 5 µm in diameter. The aim of this study was to extract the parabens at optimized conditions such as pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and the elution of solvent. To examine the mechanism of adsorption kinetics, the two most commonly used kinetics models (pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order) were employed to test experimental data along with the Morris-Weber diffusion model. The obtained data showed that the maximum sorption efficiency obtained at pH 3.0, adsorbent dose optimized as 10 mg of fiber with time of 24 hours, the methanol was sufficient to elute paraben from fibers met. The experimental data of the adsorption followed by first-order reaction with a mass transfer-controlled diffusion mechanism

Escherichia albertii and Escherichia fergusonii are recognized as emerging pathogens with zoonotic potential. Despite their increasing importance, there is a paucity of data on the cytotoxicity of these two pathogens. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the cytotoxic potentials of the cell-free supernatants from 10 E. albertii and 15 E. fergusonii isolates for their cytotoxic effects on four different cell lines (CHO, Vero, HeLa, and MDCK). All E. albertii isolates (100%) and all but one E. fergusonii (93.33%) were cytotoxic. E. albertii isolates produced similar cytotoxicity titres across the cell lines, whereas the Vero cell was found to be the most sensitive to toxins produced by E. fergusonii (p < 0.05), followed by HeLa and CHO cells. MDCK was the least sensitive cell line to E. fergusonii toxins (p < 0.05). PCR detection of cytotoxicity-associated genes (cdtB, stx1, and stx2) indicated uniform possession of cdtB gene by all E. albertii isolates, while stx1 and stx2 genes were harboured neither by E. albertii, nor E. fergusonii. Taken together, our results provided experimental evidence of the cytotoxic effects of these two emerging pathogens, and Vero cells were identified as an optimal candidate to study the cytotoxic effects of E. albertii and E. fergusonii.

Introduction: COVID-19, a novel disease, appeared in December 2019 in China and rapidly spread across the world. Till the second week of April 2020, high incidence (2.9/100,000) and cases fatality rates (1.7%) were observed in Pakistan. This study was conducted to determine the temporal and spatial distribution of the first 100 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Pakistan and their associated demographic factors. Method: A record review of the first 100 deaths reported among RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases was conducted. Demographic, epidemiological, and risk factors information was obtained associated comorbidities and clinical signs and symptoms were recorded and frequencies were determined. Results: A total of 100 mortalities with an overall case fatality rate of 1.67% (CFR) were analyzed. The median age of patients was 64.5 years (IQR: 54-70) with 75% (n=75) males. Among all deaths reported, 71 (71%) cases had one or more documented comorbidities at the time of diagnosis. The most frequently reported co-morbidities were: hypertension (67%), followed by Diabetes Mellitus (45%) and Ischemic Heart Diseases (27%). The most frequent presenting symptoms were shortness of breath (87%) and fever (79%). The median duration of illness was eight days (IQR: 4-11 days), the median delay reaching hospital to seek health care was three days (IQR: 0-6 days) while the median duration of hospital stay was also three days (IQR: 1-7 days). Among all, 62% had no history of international travel. The most affected age group was 60-69 years while no death reported in the age group below 20 years.

Maize is a globally significant food crop but its future sustainability under rainfed conditions is at risk due to climate change and increased climate uncertainty. In Pakistan most maize is rainfed but there is increasing interest in the role of supplemental irrigation to reduce the vulnerability of crop yields to future drought and climate risks. Using a crop model (DSSAT CERES-Maize) with downscaled data from a weather generator (LARS-WG) and for five selected GCMs, two RCPs (4.5 and 8.5) and two time slices (2050s and 2080s), this study assessed the impacts of climate change and climate variability on rainfed maize grown in the Pothwar region of Pakistan, and the extent to which irrigation could offset future yield reductions. Model simulations were calibrated and validated using experimental data from 2021 and 2022. The outputs showed that on average the yield of maize could be increased by 55% with a single irrigation of 60 mm during the reproductive stage. For the baseline (1991–2020) the average rainfed yield was 3370 kg/ha. The climate change scenarios for the 2050s indicated a −13.5% and −5.8% decline in rainfed yield under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. Irrigation applications (between 162 mm and 180 mm) increased grain yields by 5615 kg/ha and 5732 kg/ha, respectively. For the 2080s scenarios there was a projected decrease in yield by -9.3% and -39.7% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. Modelling also confirmed significant reductions in maize biomass production which would negatively impact on feedstocks for both livestock and renewable energy generation.

Abstract Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants that may affect the aquatic life, including fish, raised in aquaculture. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of biodegradable-MPs mixed in canola meal based diet on the growth performance, body composition, nutrient digestibility and gut content of grass carp fingerlings. For this purpose, six canola meal based diets were prepared including one control diet (without addition of MPs) and five other diets containing 1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 9% MPs. 270 fingerlings were fed twice for 60 days at a rate of 5% of their wet weight. Effect of each treatment on the weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), nutrient digestibility, gut performance and body composition was calculated by standard procedures. Highest value for growth, nutrient digestibility and no damage to gut was observed in fish fed control diet. Results showed that there was significant decrease (P

Here, we consider the generalized travelling salesman problem (GTSP), which is a generalization of the travelling salesman problem (TSP). This problem has several real-life applications. Since the problem is complex and NP-hard, solving this problem by exact methods is very difficult. Therefore, researchers have applied several heuristic algorithms to solve this problem. We propose the application of genetic algorithms (GAs) to obtain a solution. In the GA, three operators—selection, crossover, and mutation—are successively applied to a group of chromosomes to obtain a solution to an optimization problem. The crossover operator is applied to create better offspring and thus to converge the population, and the mutation operator is applied to explore the areas that cannot be explored by the crossover operator and thus to diversify the search space. All the crossover and mutation operators developed for the TSP can be used for the GTSP with some modifications. A better combination of these two operators can create a very good GA to obtain optimal solutions to the GTSP instances. Therefore, four crossover and three mutation operators are used here to develop GAs for solving the GTSP. Then, GAs is compared on several benchmark GTSPLIB instances. Our experiment shows the effectiveness of the sequential constructive crossover operator combined with the insertion mutation operator for this problem.

While urbanisation has numerous advantages, it causes greater risks to the environment and human health because of the release of heavy metals, various organic and inorganic contaminants, personal care products, and pharmaceuticals. Though several actions are being taken daily to lessen the release of harmful substances, there is still an immediate need to find a suitable solution to protect the environment. Nanotechnology has multifaceted applications, and there is extensive evidence of the emerging applications of nanoremediation, especially for soil and water pollution. Iron nanoparticles showed outstanding removal efficiency towards hexavalent chromium (100 %). Likewise, several publications on soil and water remediation employ nanomaterials based on metals, carbon, and polymers. However, most of the previously conducted works present the key nanoremediation results without depicting each nanomaterial's advantages and disadvantages. Hence, this work critically reviews the pros and cons of each nanomaterial with a special focus towards novel approaches using green synthesised nanomaterials that are completely eco-friendly and hence preferred for the removal of various contaminants without producing harmful effects. However, some bottlenecks exist in fully implementing the green nanoparticles for Nanoremediation. Thus, the review discusses the limitations of green nanomaterials that need to be addressed soon to maintain environmental sustainability. Finally, this review presents opportunities for future work in assessing the eco-safety of each nanomaterial that boosts the further utilisation of nanotechnology in the sustainable remediation of contaminated soil and water.

This work used a straightforward solvent casting approach to synthesize bone whitlockite (WH) based PVA/Gelatin composites. WH nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using the wet precipitation method, followed by their addition into the PVA/Gelatin matrix at concentrations from 1% to 10%. The physicochemical characterization of the prepared PVA/Gelatin/WH composite was carried out using ATR-FTIR, Optical profilometry, a Goniometer, a Universal tensile testing machine (UTM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed the formation of noncovalent interactions between polymeric chains and WH NPs and the incorporation of WH NPs into the polymer cavities. SEM analysis demonstrated increased surface roughness with the addition of WH NPs, supporting the results obtained through optical profilometry analysis. The mechanical properties of the prepared composite showed an increase in the tensile strength with the addition of WH filler up to 7% loading. The prepared composite has demonstrated an excellent swelling ability and surface wettability. The reported results demonstrate the exceptional potential of the prepared composite for bone tissue regeneration.

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have the potential to revolutionize online health information-seeking behavior by delivering up-to-date information on a wide range of health topics. They generate personalized responses to user queries through their ability to process extensive amounts of text, analyze trends, and generate natural language responses. Chatbots can manage infodemic by debunking online health misinformation on a large scale. Nevertheless, system accuracy remains technically challenging. Chatbots require training on diverse and representative datasets, security to protect against malicious actors, and updates to keep up-to-date on scientific progress. Therefore, although AI chatbots hold significant potential in assisting infodemic management, it is essential to approach their outputs with caution due to their current limitations.