Margalla Hills National Park(MHNP) is a declared natural reserve of Pakistan,and Saidpur village is located at its foothills.To sustain livelihood,Saidpur community relies on natural resources and has established an i...Margalla Hills National Park(MHNP) is a declared natural reserve of Pakistan,and Saidpur village is located at its foothills.To sustain livelihood,Saidpur community relies on natural resources and has established an intriguing relationship with the surrounding ecosystem.Human intrusion and related impacts were investigated through self-structured questionnaire from village community to gather information about demography,life practices,natural resource use,and their perception about the environment.Quadrat analysis revealed that the overall plant density was<4 plants/m^2,whereas ordination biplot has indicated significant reduction in plant cover and sparse distribution of species in areas close to human settlement.Survey results show that more than 50%families rely on forest wood as fuel source.Logistic regression has identified education paucity(odds ratio,OR=2.6,95%confidence interval,CI=1.0-6.7),large family size(OR= 5.0,95%CI=1.5-16.6),and fuel type(OR=3.5,95%CI=1.2-9.9)as significant predictors of accelerated forest cutting in MHNP.Male members were mostly illiterate and in favor to promote construction activities which reflects their low concern and casual attitude toward resource conservation.In this study,lack of awareness and peoples' dependency on natural resources emerged as priority challenges,and hence,we suggest provision of alternate fuel sources,better education and sustained income resources as incentives to bring behavioral change.It is pivotal to involve local community before the adoption of any conservation plan as intervention strategy to protect MHNP ecosystem.展开更多
Solid fuel use(SFU)is common in most developing countries and would release many hazardous air pollutants posing high risks on human health.The Global Burden of Disease(GBD)study highlighted risks associated with hous...Solid fuel use(SFU)is common in most developing countries and would release many hazardous air pollutants posing high risks on human health.The Global Burden of Disease(GBD)study highlighted risks associated with household SFU in Pakistan,however,high uncertainties prevail because of scanty data on SFU and unaccounted energy stacking.This study conducted a field campaign aiming at collecting first-hand data on household energy mix in Pakistan.The first survey was in Punjab and Azad Kashmir,and revealed that stacked energy use was pervasive,especially for cooking.The stacking was found to be much more obvious in SFU households(defined as those using SFU dominantly)compared to those non-SFU.There were significantly substantial differences between Azad Kashmir and Punjab because of distinct resources available and economic conditions.Woody materials comprised up to nearly 70% in Azad Kashmir,but in Punjab,gas was frequently used for cooking.Only investigating primary household energy would probably overestimate main energy types that being used for a longer time but underestimated other supplements,suggesting the preference of multiple-energy surveys in household energy studies.展开更多
Undeniably water is of utmost importance while considering basic necessities.This investigation emphasized on the hydrochemical evaluation and drinking water quality assessment in District Jacobabad located in lower I...Undeniably water is of utmost importance while considering basic necessities.This investigation emphasized on the hydrochemical evaluation and drinking water quality assessment in District Jacobabad located in lower Indus plain,Pakistan.Certainly world's largest irrigation system emerged from Indus Basin,which is underlain by well transmissive aquifer resulting in higher water table.Water supply schemes with their water sources from ground water and surface water provide piped water for drinking purpose to the community.Water samples were collected from all the forty eight supply schemes of which thirty two were found nonfunctional.Analytical parameters were compared with World Health Organization(WHO)and Pakistan Water Quality Standards but adversely substantial samples were found nonpotable.Alkalinity,bicarbonate and nitrate met the standard safe limits while values for EC,TDS,hardness,cations and anions exceeded the limits in numerous samples.SPSS and ArcGIS softwares were used for statistical analysis and spatial distribution of parameters.Hydrochemical facies were developed and suitability assessment of water resources was examined for agricultural use.The ground water type was classified as Na-HCO3 type with high salinity and it required treatment prior to irrigation.The proposed research exhibited the probable drinking water contamination sources and it demanded instant actions to further protect the valuable drinking water resources in District Jacobabad.展开更多
Dear Editor, Fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENR), and levofloxacin (LEV)) are an extensively used family of antibiotics prescribed for various infections;however, they are also increasingly...Dear Editor, Fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENR), and levofloxacin (LEV)) are an extensively used family of antibiotics prescribed for various infections;however, they are also increasingly used to promote livestock growth. After oral administTation, much of the parent compound is excreted via urine and feces and can enter the environment at a high concentration. These antibiotics are only partially removed in wastewater treatment plants and become a part of the environment through irrigation practices.展开更多
The COVID-19 outbreak has already become a global pandemic and containing this rapid worldwide transmission is of great challenge.The impacts of temperature and humidity on the COVID-19 transmission rate are still und...The COVID-19 outbreak has already become a global pandemic and containing this rapid worldwide transmission is of great challenge.The impacts of temperature and humidity on the COVID-19 transmission rate are still under discussion.Here,we elucidated these relationships by utilizing two unique scenarios,repeated measurement and natural experiment,using the COVID-19 cases reported from January 23–February 21,2020,in China.The modeling results revealed that higher temperature was most strongly associated with decreased COVID-19 transmission at a lag time of 8 days.Relative humidity(RH)appeared to have only a slight effect.These findings were verified by assessing SARSCoV-2 infectivity under the relevant conditions of temperature(4C–37C)and RH(>40%).We concluded that temperature increase made an important,but not determined,contribution to restrain the COVID19 outbreak in China.It suggests that the emphasis of other effective controlling polices should be strictly implemented to restrain COVID19 transmission in cold seasons.展开更多
文摘Margalla Hills National Park(MHNP) is a declared natural reserve of Pakistan,and Saidpur village is located at its foothills.To sustain livelihood,Saidpur community relies on natural resources and has established an intriguing relationship with the surrounding ecosystem.Human intrusion and related impacts were investigated through self-structured questionnaire from village community to gather information about demography,life practices,natural resource use,and their perception about the environment.Quadrat analysis revealed that the overall plant density was<4 plants/m^2,whereas ordination biplot has indicated significant reduction in plant cover and sparse distribution of species in areas close to human settlement.Survey results show that more than 50%families rely on forest wood as fuel source.Logistic regression has identified education paucity(odds ratio,OR=2.6,95%confidence interval,CI=1.0-6.7),large family size(OR= 5.0,95%CI=1.5-16.6),and fuel type(OR=3.5,95%CI=1.2-9.9)as significant predictors of accelerated forest cutting in MHNP.Male members were mostly illiterate and in favor to promote construction activities which reflects their low concern and casual attitude toward resource conservation.In this study,lack of awareness and peoples' dependency on natural resources emerged as priority challenges,and hence,we suggest provision of alternate fuel sources,better education and sustained income resources as incentives to bring behavioral change.It is pivotal to involve local community before the adoption of any conservation plan as intervention strategy to protect MHNP ecosystem.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.41922057,41830641 and 42077328)the Ministry of Science and Technology(No.2019QZKK0605)the undergraduate student research training program of the Ministry of Education(No.B111).
文摘Solid fuel use(SFU)is common in most developing countries and would release many hazardous air pollutants posing high risks on human health.The Global Burden of Disease(GBD)study highlighted risks associated with household SFU in Pakistan,however,high uncertainties prevail because of scanty data on SFU and unaccounted energy stacking.This study conducted a field campaign aiming at collecting first-hand data on household energy mix in Pakistan.The first survey was in Punjab and Azad Kashmir,and revealed that stacked energy use was pervasive,especially for cooking.The stacking was found to be much more obvious in SFU households(defined as those using SFU dominantly)compared to those non-SFU.There were significantly substantial differences between Azad Kashmir and Punjab because of distinct resources available and economic conditions.Woody materials comprised up to nearly 70% in Azad Kashmir,but in Punjab,gas was frequently used for cooking.Only investigating primary household energy would probably overestimate main energy types that being used for a longer time but underestimated other supplements,suggesting the preference of multiple-energy surveys in household energy studies.
文摘Undeniably water is of utmost importance while considering basic necessities.This investigation emphasized on the hydrochemical evaluation and drinking water quality assessment in District Jacobabad located in lower Indus plain,Pakistan.Certainly world's largest irrigation system emerged from Indus Basin,which is underlain by well transmissive aquifer resulting in higher water table.Water supply schemes with their water sources from ground water and surface water provide piped water for drinking purpose to the community.Water samples were collected from all the forty eight supply schemes of which thirty two were found nonfunctional.Analytical parameters were compared with World Health Organization(WHO)and Pakistan Water Quality Standards but adversely substantial samples were found nonpotable.Alkalinity,bicarbonate and nitrate met the standard safe limits while values for EC,TDS,hardness,cations and anions exceeded the limits in numerous samples.SPSS and ArcGIS softwares were used for statistical analysis and spatial distribution of parameters.Hydrochemical facies were developed and suitability assessment of water resources was examined for agricultural use.The ground water type was classified as Na-HCO3 type with high salinity and it required treatment prior to irrigation.The proposed research exhibited the probable drinking water contamination sources and it demanded instant actions to further protect the valuable drinking water resources in District Jacobabad.
基金fully funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistanpartially funded by the University of Kentucky, USA
文摘Dear Editor, Fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENR), and levofloxacin (LEV)) are an extensively used family of antibiotics prescribed for various infections;however, they are also increasingly used to promote livestock growth. After oral administTation, much of the parent compound is excreted via urine and feces and can enter the environment at a high concentration. These antibiotics are only partially removed in wastewater treatment plants and become a part of the environment through irrigation practices.
基金We would like to express our gratitude for discussions with the researchers from the environmental exposure and human health working group of the China Cohort Consortium(http://chinacohort.bjmu.edu.cn/),as well as special thanks to Dr.Ping Zhong and Dr.Wentao Wang for their instructive guidance.This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program,P.R.China(Grant No.2020YFC0846300 and 2020YFC0846200)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41771527,41922057).
文摘The COVID-19 outbreak has already become a global pandemic and containing this rapid worldwide transmission is of great challenge.The impacts of temperature and humidity on the COVID-19 transmission rate are still under discussion.Here,we elucidated these relationships by utilizing two unique scenarios,repeated measurement and natural experiment,using the COVID-19 cases reported from January 23–February 21,2020,in China.The modeling results revealed that higher temperature was most strongly associated with decreased COVID-19 transmission at a lag time of 8 days.Relative humidity(RH)appeared to have only a slight effect.These findings were verified by assessing SARSCoV-2 infectivity under the relevant conditions of temperature(4C–37C)and RH(>40%).We concluded that temperature increase made an important,but not determined,contribution to restrain the COVID19 outbreak in China.It suggests that the emphasis of other effective controlling polices should be strictly implemented to restrain COVID19 transmission in cold seasons.
