Papers by Engr. Awais Rasool
agent to treat the sandy soil. The outcomes confirm that the ratio (8: 2:1) ratio is expected to ... more agent to treat the sandy soil. The outcomes confirm that the ratio (8: 2:1) ratio is expected to contribute immensely bearing capacity of the soil, shear strength and reduction in permeability of the soil as well. The obtained outcomes of the performance analysis clearly reveal enhancement in the load bearing capability of the grouted soils with the help of an appropriate cement fly ash mixture, indicating that the fuzzy logic is an efficient technique to be effectively used to stabilize the sand mass by acting as an eco-friendly method.
Sustainability
Migratory waterbirds concentrated in freshwater ecosystems in mosaic environments rely on quality... more Migratory waterbirds concentrated in freshwater ecosystems in mosaic environments rely on quality habitats for overwintering. At West Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve (WDLNNR), China, land-use change and hydrology alternation are compounding factors that have affected important wintering areas for migratory waterbirds. Presently, changes in the hydrology and landscape have reshaped natural wintering habitats and their availability, though the impact of hydrological management on habitat selection of wintering waterbirds is largely unknown. In this study, we classified differentially managed habitats and calculated their area using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to evaluate suitable habitat availability over the study period (2016–2017 and 2017–2018 wintering periods). We then used social behavioral association network (SBAN) model to compare habitat quality through species-species social interactions and species-habitat associations in lakes with different hy...
Constructing a social-behavioral association network to study management impact on waterbird community ecology using digital video recording cameras
Studying social behavior and species associations in ecological communities is challenging becaus... more Studying social behavior and species associations in ecological communities is challenging because it is difficult to observe the interactions in the field. Animal behavior is especially difficult to observe when selection of habitat and activities are linked to energy costs of long-distance movement. Migrating communities tend to be resource specific and prefer environments that offer more suitability for coexisting in a shared space and time. Given the recent advances in digital technologies, digital video recording systems are gaining popularity in wildlife research and management. We used digital video recording cameras to study social interactions and species-habitat linkages for wintering waterbird communities in shared habitats. Examining over 8,640 hours of video footages, we built tetrapartite social behavioral association network of wintering waterbirds over habitat (n=5) selection events in sites with distinct management regimes. We analyzed these networks to identify hub...
Methyl eugenol aromatherapy: a delivery system facilitating the simultaneous application of male annihilation and sterile insect technique against the peach fruit fly
Pest Management Science
BackgroundThe peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an economic... more BackgroundThe peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an economically important polyphagous, quarantine pest endemic to South and South‐East Asia. The male annihilation technique (MAT) and the sterile insect technique (SIT) are environmentally benign techniques used to suppress fruit fly populations on an area‐wide basis. The MAT and SIT are typically used sequentially to avoid killing released sterile males; however, the MAT and SIT could potentially be used simultaneously and thereby increase the overall efficiency of control programmes. Mating competitiveness of sterile males against wild counterparts is critical for the success of the SIT. Feeding on a semiochemical, methyl eugenol (ME) has been reported to enhance the male mating performance of many Bactrocera spp., including B. zonata, but its use in SIT operational programmes is limited due to the absence of a viable delivery system.ResultsIn the present study, we demonstrated that ME aromather...
International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development
Experiment was conducted to check the biological parameters and feeding efficiency of Chrysoperla... more Experiment was conducted to check the biological parameters and feeding efficiency of Chrysoperla carnea fed on Planococcus citrimealy bugunder controlled environment (24±1 °C with 60 ± 5 % RH), during 2018. Results regarding developmental time indicated that egg incubation, larva and pupal periods were 3.60±0.1, 9.65±0.19 and 6.01±0.17 days respectively. Apparent mortality (100qx) was maximum (11.11) for pupa and minimum (5.00) was during 3 rd instar. Life expectancy (ex) for egg phase was highest (5.69) and lowest for pupal phase (1.88).Killing power (K-value) was found minimum (0.02) for 1 st and 3 rd instar while maximum (0.2) was recorded for adult stage. Feeding on artificial diet consisted of honey + sugar + Yeast + honey, the pre-oviposition, oviposition and post oviposition periods recorded for C. carnea were 8.2±0.41, 31.4±0.50 and 5±0.30 days, respectively. First and last mortality were observed at the age of 13 and 45 days while fast step down decrease was observed after 27 days when fed on the same food. Total number of eggs laid per female were 341.2±6.90 eggs. Main feeding efficiency and efficiency per day feeding on two different host stages were also found for C. carnea. The maximum (233.85±4.43 and 75.25±3.13) crawlers and adult were consumed by larva stage while minimum (27.10±1.35 and 8.70±0.48) crawlers and adult were consumed by 1 st instar. The consumption day-1 were highest (37.06± 0.28 and 9.67± 0.68) for 3 rd instar while the 1 st instar consumed lowest 9.67±0.56 and 2.89±0.21 crawlers and adult respectively.
Age‐dependent effect of methyl eugenol on male mating success of the peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a pest of economic i... more The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a pest of economic importance, endemic to South and South‐East Asia. It is highly invasive and due to its quarantine pest status, it interferes with horticultural trade. Males of many Bactrocera species are strongly attracted to methyl eugenol (ME) [1,2‐dimethoxy‐4‐(2‐propenyl) benzene], a phenylpropanoid compound naturally occurring in many plant species. Feeding on ME is also reported to enhance male mating success in several Bactrocera species. Such an effect can increase the effectiveness of the sterile insect technique (SIT). The current study was designed to identify the sexual maturity age of males of B. zonata, the relation between male age and attraction to ME, and the effect of ME on male mating success. The results showed that males initiated their mating at 8 days of age and attained the highest mating success at 16 days of age. The percentage of immature males responding to ME increased with ag...
Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research
Soil mites are considered as edaphic living organisms because these are responsible in maintainin... more Soil mites are considered as edaphic living organisms because these are responsible in maintaining the soil fertility through their decomposition and nutrient renewal activities. perimental statistics was applied to estimate the variety of soil mite diversity, seasonal variation and influence of intercropping within mango orchards through diversity index. A total of 1898 soil inhabiting mite sample slides were prepared from soil collected samples and after microscopic observation of slide specimen, 08 different families were recognized as Laelapidae, Pachylaelapidae, Ameroseiidae, Macrochelidae, Parasitidae, Phytoseiidae, Uropodidae, and Bdellidae. Macrochelidae and Parasitidae were the most prevalent familities while Pachylaelapidae and Bdellidae were recorded in the lowest numbers. The abundance of soil-inhabiting mites with respect to different locations in various months revealed that maximum abundance of mite families were recorded from Kotla Gurmani (38.5) followed by Kot Chutta (37.0) during October and minimum abundance was recorded during September from Mana Ahmadani (14.8). The maximum richness was recorded from mango orchards during September from Basti Hala (S=6.58) whereas richness remained statistically at par during October and February. The pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that most mite families had a negative correlation with morning and evening relative humidity while the positive correlation with maximum and minimum temperature. The results showed higher Shannon diversity index was observed in Mana Ahmadani during October and February (2.04 and 2.03, respectively) whereas the least value was observed in Basti Halla during February (1.60). Finally it could be concluded that farmers should consider conservation activities of mite fauna through intercropping to enhance the soil fertility thereby fruit production.
Construct social‐behavioral association network to study management impact on waterbirds community ecology using digital video recording cameras
Ecology and Evolution
Studying social‐behavior and species associations in ecological communities is challenging becaus... more Studying social‐behavior and species associations in ecological communities is challenging because it is difficult to observe the interactions in the field. Animal behavior is especially difficult to observe when selection of habitat and activities are linked to energy costs of long‐distance movement. Migrating communities tend to be resource specific and prefer environments that offer more suitability for coexisting in a shared space and time. Given the recent advances in digital technologies, digital video recording systems are gaining popularity in wildlife research and management. We used digital video recording cameras to study social interactions and species–habitat linkages for wintering waterbirds communities in shared habitats. Examining over 8,640 hr of video footages, we built tetrapartite social‐behavioral association network of wintering waterbirds over habitat (n = 5) selection events in sites with distinct management regimes. We analyzed these networks to identify hub...
Journal of Contemporary Pharmacy
Objective: Incorporation of drugs into non-ionic surfactant vesicles (niosomes) during their manu... more Objective: Incorporation of drugs into non-ionic surfactant vesicles (niosomes) during their manufacture affords apossible method of achieving controlled release. The aim of this study was to formulate niosomes as carriers for delivery of diclofenac sodium (DCS) to achieve controlled release. Method: Niosomes were prepared by Ether injection method using non-ionic surfactant (Span 80) and cholesterol in ratio of 1:1, the organic solvent (dichloromethane) and phosphate buffer. Results: The prepared niosomes were then evaluated for physical appearance, light microscopy, optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and entrapment efficiency.Conclusion: Diclofenac sodium niosomes were prepared successfully without using charge inducing surfaces andwere confirmed by microscopic evaluation.
Research experiments were conducted on the biological attributes of ladybird beetle Harmonia dimi... more Research experiments were conducted on the biological attributes of ladybird beetle Harmonia dimidiata (Fab.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) at constant prey densities feed on Schizaphis gaminum aphid at constant temperature (24 ±1 °C) at Insect Pest Management Program, National Agricultural Research Centre Islamabad. The effect of six constant prey densities of S. graminum aphid was investigated on development, weight, reproductive and predatory efficiency of larvae and adult female H. dimidiata. The prey density for larval and adult stages was different. The prey densities for larvae were 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 aphids/day and for adult female beetle the prey density include 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 and 240 aphids/ day. The larvae were maintained till pupation and adult female beetles were maintained from the time of eclosion till their death on constant prey densities. The duration of different larval instars were different at lower prey densities and as the densities increase the duration may become non-significant at higher densities. The preoviposition period was significantly different at lower densities and at lowest prey density, 40 aphids /day, the female beetles could not produce eggs, while at higher densities the pre-oviposition period was nonsignificant different. The oviposition period was also significantly different at lower densities while at higher densities 200 and 240 aphids/ day the oviposition period was non-significant different from each other. The female fecundity was lowest at lower densities and highest at prey density 200 aphids/ day. Once the asymptote level attain by the female beetle then further increase in prey density have non-significant effect on female fecundity. The functional response exhibited by first, second, third and fourth instar larvae exemplified type II with optimum response at a prey density of 40, 60, 80 and 100 aphids/ day respectively. Both the functional and the reproductive numerical response of female beetle showed the upper asymptote level at 200 aphids/ day. The study highlight the importance of environmental regulation in mass rearing of ladybird beetle H. dimidiata for application as a biological control agent against economically important aphid pests of wheat crops in Pakistan.
ARTICLE INFORMATION Received: April 29, 2013 Received in revised form: August 16, 2013 Accepted: ... more ARTICLE INFORMATION Received: April 29, 2013 Received in revised form: August 16, 2013 Accepted: September 20, 2013 Email: The effect of three constant temperatures i.e. 22 , 28 and 34 1 ̊C on the biological parameters of Menochilus sexmaculatus Fab. was studied at Insectary-biological control laboratories, National Agricultural Research Centre Islamabad during 2012.There was a significant effect of temperatures on the developmental durations and predatory potential of M. sexmaculatus reared on Schizaphis graminum aphid. The incubation period was 4.22 0.12, 3.64 0.11 and 2.12 0.11 days with 73.2 3.07, 80.8 2.06 and 64.8 3.50 percent hatchability. The total larval duration was 9.48 0.09, 7.89 0.07 and 5.65 0.07 days. The predatory potential of larval stage was ranged from 161 to 184 aphids/larvae. The pupal duration was 4.28 0.08 3.69 0.05 and 2.24 0.06 days. The results indicate that temperature have significant effect on the developmental durations and predatory potential of Menoch...
This study was conducted to investigate food habits of the Grey Francolin in the Salt Range (Chum... more This study was conducted to investigate food habits of the Grey Francolin in the Salt Range (Chumbi Surla Wildlife Sanctuary and Diljabba Domeli Game Reserve). For this purpose, 28 crop and gizzard samples of the Grey Francolin were collected from local hunters/poachers. These samples were collected in different seasons; spring (n=6), summer (n=4), autumn (n=7) and winter (n= 11) and during the morning and evening hours. In total, twelve food items were recovered from 28 samples. Eight food items consisted of plant materials (leaves and seeds) were identified as Brassica rapa, Pennisetum typhoideum, Carthemus oxycantha, Eruca sativa, Triticum aestivum, Vigna radiata, Oxalis corniculata and Sorghum bicolor. Three food items belong to animal parts were from three different orders of insects; Formica rufa (Hymenoptera), Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera) and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera). The total weight of their gut with food contents was 147.1 gm (10.50+1.26) in the morning while in the evening, the weight of their gut with food contents was 115.86 gm (8.27+0.53). The consumption of plant materials was high in spring (2.33+0.89) and summer (2.59+0.67) compared with autumn (1.23+0.48) and winter (1.47+0.65). The consumption of insects as compared with plant materials showed seasonal variation as it was higher in summer (4.15+1.93) and winter (2.5+1.44) as compared to spring (1.56+0.88) and autumn (2.38+1.03). Comparison of the weight of different food items collected during the morning and evening times using student's paired t-test in QI Macros-2014 showed that there was significant difference between the weight of contents of the morning and evening and the selection of plant and animal species during the time of the day.
Pakistan Sugar Journal, 2012
A study was undertaken in Sargodha and Jhang districts to categorize suitability of tube well wat... more A study was undertaken in Sargodha and Jhang districts to categorize suitability of tube well water for irrigation. In total, 55 water samples were collected in different localities: 14 from Sargodha and 41 from Jhang district. The samples were analyzed for electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and boron (B). With respect to EC it was found that 28 % samples in Sargodha and 44 % samples in Jhang district were marginally fit to unfit for irrigation purpose. With respect to SAR, 14 % samples at Sargodha and 24 % samples at Jhang were marginally fit to unfit respectively. Based on RSC value 36% samples at Sargodha and 37 % samples at Jhang were marginally fit to unfit for irrigation. On the combined basis of three parameters, only 14.3 % tube well water samples at Sargodha and 17.1 % samples at Jhang were unfit for irrigation. In tube well water Boron was found 2-3 times more than canal water. It can be concluded that brackish wate...
Studies on the biological attributes and parasitic potential of Trichogramma Chilonis (Ishii) reared on Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) and Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) eggs under laboratory conditions
International Journal of Entomology Research, 2019
With the growing development of world every software product demands extra features to compete wi... more With the growing development of world every software product demands extra features to compete with competitors. To solve this problem, we have required Agile with defined and clear architecture to avoid the failure of project. But you do not know how it is possible and how we can stable our architecture and Agile model…? To ease the solution of problem we divided our product development models into two sections. 1. Traditional Models and 2. Agile Models The traditionally models are highly time consuming with dense documentation as compared to agile with frivolous documentation and intercommunications to satisfy customer. There are different methodologies available for starting products and complex systems development consisting the simple requirement with well-structured architecture objects. But we choose the agile process to make our architecture slim and least documentation which can easily review, update and conversate. There are also problems in our documentation and architect...
Journal of entomology and zoology studies, 2018
A research was conducted on the response of eight mash (Vigna mungo) genotypes NCH-9-9, NCH-3-4, ... more A research was conducted on the response of eight mash (Vigna mungo) genotypes NCH-9-9, NCH-3-4, NARC-MASH-3, CHAKWAL-MASH-97, NCH-7-5, MASH UROOJ, NARC-MASH-1 and NCH-10-1 to pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculates under laboratory conditions. Two sets of experiments, NoChoice and Free-Choice tests were carried out and the results were evaluated on the basis of fecundity, development period, adult emergence, adult weight, damage and weight loss in grains. In No-Choice test, NARC-Mash-1, NCH-3-4 and Mash-Urooj showed good results with minimum grain damage 17.82± 0.56%, 18.27±0.66% and 18.43± 0.55%, respectively. While maximum damage (23.86± 0.52%) was shown by NCH-7-5. In Free-Choice test, NCH-10-1 performed best with 12.29± 0.45% grain damage followed by NARC-Mash-3 (13.70± 0.47%), NCH-3-4 (14.06± 0.20%) and Mash-Urooj (17.33± 0.59%). While NARC-Mash-1 showed maximum grain damage (23.45± 0.49%) contemporary to its result in NOChoice test. One genotype NCH-9-9 showed almost similar r...
Journal of entomology and zoology studies, 2019
Chaetognaths are marine invertebrate organisms that constitute a small phylum of very abundant an... more Chaetognaths are marine invertebrate organisms that constitute a small phylum of very abundant animals. Chaetognaths exhibit several morphological, physiological, anatomical and molecular peculiarities. In all known chaetognath mitochondrial (mt) genomes, the number of genes encoding tRNAs is always small. In addition, the primary sequences and secondary structures of chaetognath tRNAs are not conventional. Several metazoan mt-trn genes (encoding tRNAs) exhibit nucleotide triplets corresponding to stop codons (TAG/TAA) and/or start codons (ATG/ATA) at specific conserved positions. The products of genes that bear one or both types of these codons are known as ss-tRNAs (ss for stop/start). Indirect analyses strongly suggest that in chaetognath mt genomes, some of these start and stop codons could be functional. Moreover, taking these codons into account in the algorithms predicting tRNAs makes it possible to identify and correct several potential annotation errors. Furthermore, a type...
Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 2020
Groundwater is the most important natural resource around the world which needs new and advanced ... more Groundwater is the most important natural resource around the world which needs new and advanced technologies for control and monitoring. This investigation was to check the groundwater potential zones by integrated techniques of geoinformatics and geophysical investigation through a vertical electrical sounding in Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The study area being a sedimentary basin, sandstone is the major rock type with good porosity and permeability. Satellite data were used to generate different thematic maps such as slope percent, lineament density, land use/cover, drainage density, geology, roughness index, curvature, topographic wetness index, and rainfall. Subsequently suitable rank and weightage was assinged for final weight overlay analysis to identify the groundwater potential zones. Final potential map was generated with good, moderate, and poor zones. This analysis revealed that 92.60% of the area is categorized to be having good to moderate groundwater potential. Then, an electrical resistivity survey was done by vertical electrical sounding (VES) using Schlumberger electrode configuration, at 32 locations to check the subsurface condition. The predominant curve types were Q type, A type, H type, and K type. The apparent resistivity was calculated at 20-m, 40-m, and 60-m depths. Dar-Zarrouk parameters were calculated to identify the subsurface aquifers and protective capacity rating. Integrating the outcome of GIS and geophysical studies, the region with good groundwater potential was delineated with more accuracy.
PeerJ, 2020
Rapid urbanization is changing the existing patterns of land use land cover (LULC) globally, whic... more Rapid urbanization is changing the existing patterns of land use land cover (LULC) globally, which is consequently increasing the land surface temperature (LST) in many regions. The present study is focused on estimating current and simulating future LULC and LST trends in the urban environment of Chaoyang District, Beijing. Past patterns of LULC and LST were identified through the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) method and multispectral Landsat satellite images during the 1990–2018 data period. The cellular automata (CA) and stochastic transition matrix of the Markov model were applied to simulate future (2025) LULC and LST changes, respectively, using their past patterns. The CA model was validated for the simulated and estimated LULC for 1990–2018, with an overall Kappa (K) value of 0.83, using validation modules in IDRISI software. Our results indicated that the cumulative changes in built-up to vegetation area were 74.61 km2 (16.08%) and 113.13 km2 (24.38%) from 1990 to...
Evaluation of Sugarcane Genotypes for Different Ecologies of Pakistan by Employing Gge-Biplot Technique
Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 2019
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Papers by Engr. Awais Rasool