https://ojs.wumardan.edu.pk/index.php/njbs/issue/feed 2025-04-14T06:58:22+00:00 Dr. Neelum Zeb njbs@wumardan.edu.pk Open Journal Systems https://ojs.wumardan.edu.pk/index.php/njbs/article/view/392 2025-04-14T06:46:20+00:00 Lubna Khan ojs_dd@wumardan.edu.pk

<p>About 80% population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are using surface and ground water as prime source of drinking water. World health Organization (WHO) has been reported transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery and polio are linked with contamination of drinking water. Therefore, assessment of the prime source of drinking water in least developed areas gained significant importance. The present investigation aimed to assess the quality of drinking water and evaluate the contamination of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) in drinking water sources at Dargai, Malakand and nearby places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, between October 2021 and March 2022. The contamination level of the collected samples from different sources were determined through gram staining and other microbiological techniques. The results revealed the presence of microorganism, which consisted predominantly of cocci (81.81%) and Bacilli (9.09%). Among these, gram-positive accounted for 36.36%, while gram-negative microorganisms comprised 90.90%. Additionally, 72.72% of the microorganisms were identified as Fungi. The results revealed substantial microbial presence, including various bacterial and fungal species, indicating potential health risks. These findings highlight the critical need for enhanced water management planning and risk assessment of community water sources in Dargai Malakand and surrounding areas, and recommend further research by using advanced microbial identification techniques and evaluate the broader public health implications.</p>

2025-04-14T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 https://ojs.wumardan.edu.pk/index.php/njbs/article/view/393 2025-04-14T06:51:55+00:00 Sidra Jabeen ojs_dd@wumardan.edu.pk

<p>Human brucellosis, an important zoonosis is a chronic occupational disease that mostly affects butchers, slaughter-house workers, animal keepers, veterinarians and laboratory workers. The causative agent is transmitted through direct contact with infected tissues or fluids by infected animals, ingesting unpasteurized milk and meat products, and inhalation of infectious aerosols. It can be transmitted vertically or horizontally due to close contacts like sexual intercourse (especially in animals but rare in humans). In humans, the disease generally, begins as an acute febrile illness with non-specific flu-like signs and then leads to intermittent fever with manifestations such as cardiovascular, genitourinary, haematopoietic, nervous, skeletal, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, ocular, and cutaneous involvement The objective of the study is to determine the frequency of serologically positive brucellosis among febrile patients at Rawalpindi / Islamabad area. Hospital based, observational, case control study in patients of Brucellosis. The Department of Microbiology at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi Pakistan from October 2020 to January 2021. Direct agglutination test and Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay, both tests were used for serology of brucellosis. Out of 207 patients, 19 patients were found positive for Brucellosis whereas 188 were negative. It has also been reported that out of 19 positive patients, 11 were males while 8 were females. We found that the majority of patients were found negative for Brucellosis. The frequency of Brucellosis among febrile patients was high. In conclusion we postulated that the frequency of Brucellosis among febrile patients is 9.2%. Out of these positive cases, 58% patients were male while on the other hand 42% were female, showing male predominance.</p>

2024-12-31T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 https://ojs.wumardan.edu.pk/index.php/njbs/article/view/394 2025-04-14T06:54:01+00:00 Mazzullah ojs_dd@wumardan.edu.pk

<p>The study aimed to assess the growth and nutrition of Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a pond at the trout fish facility of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University (SBBU) in Sheringal, District Dir Upper from December 2020 to August 2021. Fifty seedlings were obtained from Madyan trout hatchery in Swat and then transferred to the SBBU, Sheringal hatchery for research purposes. The physio-chemical parameters were monitored weekly. The average temperature ranged from 15.5℃ to 27.2℃, conductivity ranged from 0.04 to 0.06 S/m, dissolved oxygen levels varied from 1.24 to 3.2 mg/L, and pH ranged from 7.8 to 7.9. Initially, the Juvenile fish measured between 2.3 and 3.5 inches in size. In December, the fish were fed powdered food. For the rest of experiment, they were fed pellet food, with the pellet size increasing as the fish grew. At the end of each month, the length weight of the fish was measured. The fish did not grow consistently, as indicated by a slope of 2.1572 for the “B” value, which is below 3.0, indicating the negative allometric growth. The length-weight frequencies were determined monthly, showing continuous changes from one month to the next.</p>

2024-12-31T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 https://ojs.wumardan.edu.pk/index.php/njbs/article/view/395 2025-04-14T06:56:17+00:00 Khalil Bin Imail ojs_dd@wumardan.edu.pk

<p>Evaluation and identification of superior genotypes for general cultivation is the key objective of plant breedings programs. To investigate genotypic differences among exotic wheat germplasm and association between yield and yield associated attribute in wheat genetics, scientific research was Khalil Bin Ismail NJBS (2024) 5: 2 July – December, 2024 35 done at Agriculture Research Station, Baffa, Mansehra in 2021. Fifty genotypes including 49 exotic wheat genotypes and one check cultivar were sown in Randomised Complete Block (RCB) design with three replications. Data were recorded on plant length (cm), spike length(cm), 1000-grains weight (gm), days to emergence, number of heads and days to maturity, biological yield (kg), tiller m-2 , yield plot-1 (kg). Significants variation were noted among all the genotypes i.e plants height (cm), 1000 grain weight (gm), days to emergence , heading and maturity days, biological yields (kg), tiller m', grains yield (kg) length of spike (cm). Maximum plants height (104 cm), spikes length (11.63 cm), 1000 grain weight (39.3 gm), emergence days(20 days), days to headings (116 days), days to maturity (180.3 days), biological yield (11.9 kg), tiller m-2 ( 574) and grains yield (3.56 kg) were recorded for genotpye G43, G37, G37, G19, G48, G11, G40, G37 and G37, respectively. Grains yield depicted significant correlation with spike lengths, 1000 grains weight and tiller m-2 ; whereas, significant negative correlation with plant height and biological yield showed that these traits needs to be measured in determining selections criteria for grains yield improvement. Heritability evaluations revealed high values for all the parameters viz. plant height (0.83), 1000-grain weight (0.83), emergence days (0.61), days for heading (0.85), date to physiological maturity (0.72), biological yield (0.65), grain yield (0.77), tiller m-2 (0.84) and spike length (0.70). Selection response estimates revealed low values for the traits under study viz. plant height (7.9), 1000-grain weight (1.2), day to emergence (1.14), days to heading (2.892), days to maturity (2.65), biological yields (0.34), grain yield (0.59) but moderate for spike length (15.58) and high for parameter like tiller m-2 (25.49). Genotype G37, G3 and G38 produced maximum grain yield and thus should be suggested for breeding wheat and varietal development programme in future.</p>

2024-12-31T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025 https://ojs.wumardan.edu.pk/index.php/njbs/article/view/396 2025-04-14T06:58:22+00:00 Arooba Murtaza ojs_dd@wumardan.edu.pk

<p>The practice of utilizing medicinal plants has been widespread since ancient times due to the ability of plants to produce chemical compounds. Five medicinal plants i.e., Cymbopogan citratus, Piper longum, Althaea officinalis, Malva and Vasaka were studied for observing their phytochemical potential and many other antibacterial activities. Phytochemical analysis of the methanol and ethyl acetate plant extracts showed the presence of different useful bioactive compounds such as steroids, carbohydrates, reducing sugars in these plants. Antibacterial activity against gram positive (Bacillus KC881030) and gram negative (E. coli GM2163) strains was determined. Among all extracts, lemon grass (Cymbopogan citratus) gave maximum inhibition zone of 17mm. Minimum inhibitory concentration of Cymbopogan citratus methanol extract was 31.25mg/ml. DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl 1-1 picrylhydrazyl) test was performed for checking the antioxidant potential that gave the best activity of 68.3% in case of lemon grass extract. Antimitotic studies revealed that lemon grass extract possesses antimitotic activity (53%). Due to all of these properties of lemon grass, thin layer chromatography (TLC) was performed to identify the bioactive compounds. Out of the 7 spots obtained from selected plant extract in methanol, only 1 spot exhibiting the best zone size (14mm) was analyzed for Gas chromatography and mass spectrophotometry (GCMS) analysis. GCMS revealed the presence of Citral as a bioactive component in selected plant extract. In conclusion, Cymbopogan citratus showed the best antibacterial, antioxidative and antimitotic potential. Further research should analyze phytochemical components for effective use of herbs in pharmaceutical industry.</p>

2024-12-31T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 2025