Foodborne diseases are increasing at an alarming rate, thereby eliciting constant threat to public health worldwide. Approximately, 200 foodborne cases are caused due to ingestion of contaminated food each year. In developing countries, unhygienic practices are main reasons for foodborne diseases. Precise estimate of population-based data on food borne illnessesare scarce in Pakistan. This review focuses to elucidate etiological cause of foodborne diseases dominant in Pakistan from 1990 to 2018. Various databases were searched, and 88 articles related to foodborne diseases were identified. Around 59 articles were included on quality assessment criteria. We determined dominant pathogens associated with foodborne diseases among all provinces of Pakistan. High numbers of foodborne diseases were reported in Sindh. Whereas, Salmonella was determined asprimary cause of foodborne ailments. Most of the reported data on antibiotic resistance was unavailable. Shagella spp were first reported for antibiotic resistance in 1990, and E. coli was reported for multi-drug resistance in 1998. Nevertheless, S. aureus was reported for Methicillinresistant in 2015-16. This study summarize various sources responsible forfood-borne illness, of which unhygienic conditions, poor sanitation systems, lack of proper infrastructure and continuous influx of refugees plays key role in escalation of morbidity rate in the region. We emphasize need of active surveillance system in reducing foodborne outbreaks in future and enable policy makers to set appropriate goals in food safety area. Keywords AFood control, drug resistance, food safety, Pakistan
Introduction: Bacterial meningitis (BM) is a lethal infectious disease that persists as a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality. The antimicrobial drug resistance in BM pathogens poses a major threat to the community while raising challenges for clinicians. For the first time, we elucidate the incidence rate of BM and its drug resistance among the population of Quetta, Balochistan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted (from January 2018 to March 2021) among meningitis patients admitted to government hospitals in Quetta. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimen was collected and processed for microbiological and cytological analysis. Bacterial isolates were identified and confirmed using phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. Results: We found 35.9% (321/894) confirmed cases of BM among the population of Quetta, Balochistan. The identified bacterial isolates comprised Streptococcus pneumoniae 14.7% (130/894), Staphylococcus aureus 6.9% (61/894), Neisseria meningitidis 5.7% (51/ 894), Haemophilus influenzae 2.5% (22/894), Escherichia coli 4.5% (40/894), and Klebsiella pneumoniae 1.9% (17/894). A high percentage in male patients of 20.8% (186/894) was identified as compared to female patients of 15.1% (135/894). Extreme age groups such as infants (age range: 1 month to 1 year) and adults (age range: 61 years to 99 years) with low immunity were critically affected by BM. Clinical parameters such as abnormal CSF appearance, pH, and high WBCs in BM patients with endocarditis as the underlying disease were significantly at elevated risk of fatal outcome. 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis confirmed the evolutionary similarity of isolated strains with prevailing pathogenic strains in Asia. Furthermore, age was identified as a significant risk factor for clinical outcomes. Conclusion:The majority of the identified BM patients belonged to rural areas with limited health-care facilities and paramedic staff. The high case fatality rate 11% demonstrates increased antibiotic resistance among BM isolates, thereby stimulating its devastation in underdeveloped regions. Timely detection and intensive treatment of BM may improve critical outcomes in patients.
Marine microbes are known for their bioactive compounds in various industries. Similarly, marine bacteria are vital in sustainability of aquaculture around the world. Despite its essential role in synthesis of bioactive compounds, commercial use of marine bacteria as probiotics in aquaculture industry is the neglected sector in the world. Few developed countries are utilizing the probiotics in aquaculture industry while rest of the world has not considered it as an option. Probiotics can target wide spectrum of issues in aquaculture industry from reducing pollutants to a source of disease treatment that can be exploited accordingly. Marine bacteria are selected via rigorous processes to isolate potential probiotic. These probiotics are known for targeting various sites for competition, chemicals present in the environment, produce inhibitory substances to prevent fungal, bacterial, viral infection, augment stress conditions, and boost immunity. In this review we will highlight the importance of marine bacteria as potential source of probiotics in aquaculture industry. We aimed to highlight the challenges faced by aquaculture industry to emphasize the gravity of this issue. Finally, we stress on the advantages on marine probiotics and the methods that can be employed to identify potential probiotics. Marine bacteria are identified via series of processes involving pre-experimental screening in which the marine bacteria are isolated, cultured and tested for its activities in favor of host health. Second is experimental screening in which the microbe is delivered to aquaculture host and the results are observed. If the results are substantially robust in terms of improving health, the probiotic is approved for final screening tests. Finally, in post-experimental screening, the marine bacteria are identified to its strain level and assessed whether it has the potential to be used as probiotics and can be produced as mass culture. Further research is essential to identify promising bacteria and effectively utilize them in the aquaculture culture industry. It is crucial to aware farmers regarding the economic importance of aquaculture at an industrial scale to boost economy but produce quality seafood.
With the advancement in AR technology, more education-based applications are being developed using Augmented Reality, which has revolutionized the learning experience. However, in order to determine the application’s impact on student’s motivation, performance and their communication with the lecturer, various studies are conducted. These studies use one of the three research methodologies for data analysis and evaluation. In this systematic review, we have analyzed various research methodologies for system evaluation of the AR learning applications and recorded the student response toward the system. Also, we checked which methodology is preferred by researchers and why. A total number of 25 studies were analyzed which were published during the year of 2015 and 2019. The results indicate that most popular research technique is mixed methodology as it combines both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The purpose of this review is to offer new insights to researchers and provide them with advice about evaluation of AR applications and which tool or technique is more effective.
Over the last few decades there has been an exponential growth in IT, motivating IT professionals and scientists to explore new dimensions resulting in the advancement of artificial intelligence and its subcategories like computer vision, deep learning and augmented reality. AR is comparatively a new area which was initially explored for gaming but recently a lot of work has been done in education using AR. Most of this focuses on improving students understanding and motivation. Like any other project, the performance of an AR based project is determined by the customer satisfaction which is usually affected by the theory of triple constraints; cost, time and scope. many studies have shown that most of the projects are under development because they are unable to overcome these constraints and meet project objectives. We were unable to find any notable work done regarding project management for augmented reality systems and application. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a system for management of AR applications which mainly focuses on catering triple constraints to meet desired objectives. Each variable is further divided into subprocesses and by following these processes successful completion of the project can be achieved.
Energy is lifeline in development and progress of a country, with pivotal use in industrial and agricultural sectors. While fossil fuels are primary source of energy, its rapid depletion is major concerns of the world today. Developed countries are finding alternates to strengthen its economic backbone by resolving limited supply of energy issues and meeting their enormous demands. Plants can offer better alternative as biofuels to address the energy crisis and meet projected energy demand. Recently, sorghum based research remained center of attention due to its exceptional properties to grow under dry, and hot environmental conditions with limited water requirement. All parts of sorghum have economic values with usage in syrup, sugar, fuel, alcohol, bedding and paper production. Whereas, Sorghum stalks are enriched source of carbohydrates with 16-18% of fermentable sugar that makes it potential candidate for bioethanol production. Bioethanol is considered environmental friendly as it reduces greenhouse gases and replaces MTBE (Methyl tert-butyl ether) pollutants in air. Yet, the benefits of sorghum as biofuels comes with a challenge of rapid degradation of sugar, therefore immediate harvest after maturity can ensure high sugar content. This review covers scope and recent research on sorghum in Pakistan and indicates its usage as an ideal feedstock to meet present energy crisis. Currently, developed countries are exploiting sorghum in bioethanol production due to its high tolerance to drought and salt, and improved sugar content in lieu of using sugarcane and maize. Moreover, studies involving high-tech research and role of microRNA in high yield and improved sugar content in biofuel production of sorghum are also addressed in this review.
SARS-CoV-2 being contagious and highly transmissible emerged in December 2019 causing pandemic of acute respiratory disease. SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious disease and also named as ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (COVID-19) as the novel strain identified in 2019. This research review aims to provide an insight to compare important features of SARS with novel COVID-19. We capitulate the current data available on the topic to provide a sound basis on the emerging issues related to two pandemics. Both viruses belong to the same family and accountable for two different pandemics i.e. SARS in 2003 and COVID-19 from 2019 to date. This review focuses on aspects like origin, transmission, pathogenesis, symptoms, impact, and challenges faced during the pandemic, development of immunity, possible treatments, along with possible preventions for personal protection. COVID-19 seems similar to SARS regarding its clinical features and high transmissibility than SARS. Although, COVID-19 belonged to same family as SARS, yet the spread and impact of this disease bought developed and undeveloped countries to their knees. However, the current scenario shows that not only undeveloped countries but also developed countries are not prepared to cope up with pandemic. As soon as the pandemic ends it will enable the world to evaluate the health, social and economic impact of this global mishap and to understand situations according to gained experience most likely in areas of public and global health to prepare for future pandemics.
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