Internet of Things-based sustainable environment management for large indoor facilities

Due to global warming and climate change, the poultry industry is heavily impacted, especially the broiler industry, due to the sensitive immune system of broiler chickens. However, the continuous monitoring and controlling of the farm's environmental parameters can help to curtail the negative impacts of the environment on chickens' health, leading to increased meat production. This article presents smart solutions to such issues, which are practically implemented, and have low production and operational costs. In this article, an Internet of Things (IoT) based environmental parameters monitoring has been demonstrated for the poultry farmhouse. This system enables the collection and visualization of crucially sensed data automatically and reliably, and at a low cost to efficiently manage and operate a poultry farm. The proposed IoT-based remote monitoring system collects and visualizes environmental parameters, such as air temperature, relative humidity (RH), oxygen level (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ammonia (NH3) gas concentrations. The wireless sensor nodes have been designed and deployed for efficient data collection of the essential environmental parameters that are key for monitoring and decision-making process. The hardware is implemented and deployed successfully at a site within the control shed of the poultry farmhouse. The results revealed important findings related to the environmental conditions within the poultry farm. The temperature inside the control sheds remained within the desired range throughout the monitoring period, with daily average values ranging from 32 °C to 34 °C. The RH showed slight variations monitoring period, ranging from 65% to 75%, with a daily average of 70%. The O2 concentration exhibited an average value of 17% to 18.5% throughout the monitoring period. The CO2 levels showed occasional increases, reaching a maximum value of 1,100 ppm. However, this value was below the maximum permissible level of 2,500 ppm, indicating that the ventilation system was effective in maintaining acceptable CO2 levels within the control sheds. The NH3 gas concentration remained consistently low throughout the duration, with an average value of 50 parts per million (ppm).

Effect of season and housing systems on various physio-behavioral attributes of local breed of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of season and various housing systems on behavioral i.e. sitting, standing, walking and physiological i.e. respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), time of sexual libido (TSL) attributes of local breed of rabbits reared in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Adult rabbits (n = 40) of 6 month to 1 year old were divided into two groups (n = 20 / group). Group I was placed under traditional colony system in the soil while group II was kept under modern cage system. Sitting and standing was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher during summer and winter respectively. The RR and RT were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher in summer as compared to other study seasons. Standing behavior was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher in caged rabbits as compared to colony-reared ones. Statistically higher (p ≤ 0.05) TSL value was observed in summer as compared to other three study seasons. From this study it is concluded that rabbit's behavioral and physiological traits are significantly affected by season and housing systems. We concluded that rabbits show better physio-behavioral performance in autumn and winter season while summer stress negatively affects physiology and behavior under caged-system. This study could contribute new aspects of behavioral and physiological processes in local breed of rabbits due to different seasons and housing systems.

Recovery of Schistosoma haematobium ovum from Labeo rohita: first report from Pakistan

Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a parasitic disease caused by trematodes from the genus Schistosoma that can infect humans and animals. S. mansoni, S. japonicum, and S. mekongi all causes intestinal schistosomiasis except S. haematobium that causes urinary schistosomiasis. It is only specie which effects urinary system, it can affect liver, heart, lungs also but very rarely. Schistosoma haematobium is endemic to over 50 countries in Africa and the Middle East and Western Asia and may be fatal in HIV positive people. A number of reports from the African countries like Nigeria have been reported. A few cases are reported but in Pakistan it has never been reported before in native people. It is first time reported in Pakistan in the intestine of Rahu (Labeo rohita). The purpose of this study is to elaborate the approach of zoonotic agent by various other routes including the commonly available fish.

Prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica in humans

The present survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of human amebiasis. During the study, 1360 fecal samples were examined from February 2007 to December 2007 at Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Out of 1360 hosts examined, 295 were infected with E. histolytica. The overall prevalence of E. histolytica was (21.69%). Relationship between sex and E. histolytica in humans showed that the infection of E. histolytica was more prevalent in male hosts (22.36%) as compared to female hosts (20.9%). However the difference was statistically non-significant (P>0.05). Results regarding the relationship between age and E. histolytica revealed that the parasite had highest prevalence (30.82%) in age group of 1 day to 15 years and lowest prevalence (17.34%) in age group of 31 to 45 years. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05).