Fidelity of Hymenoptera and Diptera pollinators in onion (Allium cepa L.) pollination

Shafqat SAEED,Asif SAJJAD1,권오석,권용정 한국곤충학회 2008 Entomological Research Vol.38 No.4

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is protandrous in nature and requires cross-pollination to avoid inbreeding. The pollination potential of native bees (Hymenoptera) and true flies (Diptera) was assessed in the perspective of finding the best pollinators for onion cross-pollination and seed multiplication. The community of pollinators was composed of four bee species and twelve true fly species. Episyrphus balteatus, Eupeodes sp.,Musca domestica and Eristalinus aeneus were the most abundant pollinators. The maximum pollinator activity was observed from 12 to 24 days after opening of the flowers. The pollination effectiveness of tested bees (Apis dorsata and Apis florea) was greater than true flies (E. balteatus, Eupeodes sp., M. domestica, E. aeneus and Callihoridae sp.) in terms of Spears values.

Effect of temporal data aggregation on the perceived structure of a quantitative plant–floral visitor network

Asif Sajjad,Shafqat SAEED,Mudssar ALI,Fawad Zafar Ahmad KHAN,권용정,Mariano DEVOTO 한국곤충학회 2017 Entomological Research Vol.47 No.6

Seasonal turnover in plant and floral visitor communities changes the structure of the network of interactions they are involved in. Despite the dynamic nature of plant–visitor networks, a usual procedure is to pool year‐round interaction data into a single network which may result in a biased depiction of the real structure of the interaction network. The annual temporal dynamics and the effect of merging monthly data have previously been described for qualitative data (i.e. describing the occurrence of interactions) alone, while its quantitative aspect (i.e. the actual frequency with which interactions occur) remain little explored. For this, we built a set of 12 monthly networks describing year‐round plant–floral visitor interactions in a 30‐hectare planted forest and its adjacent agricultural landscape at Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan. A total of 80 plant and 162 insect species, which engaged in 1573 unique interactions, were recorded. Most network properties (particularly the number of plants, visitors and unique interactions) varied markedly during the year. Data aggregation showed that while animal species, plant species, unique interaction, weighted nestedness, interaction diversity and robustness increased, connectance and specialization decreased. The only metric which seemed relatively unaffected by data pooling was interaction evenness. In general, quantitative metrics were relatively less affected by temporal data aggregation than qualitative ones. Avoiding data aggregation not only gives a more realistic depiction of the dynamic nature of plant–visitor community networks, but also avoids biasing network metrics and, consequently, their expected response to disturbances such as the loss of species.

Attitude Control of Quadcopter Using Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Control

Asif Sajjad Khan Anjum,Rana Ali Sufian,Zain Abbas,Ijaz Mansoor Qureshi 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Hybrid Information Techno Vol.9 No.4

This research contains the simulation and designing of Quadcopter using Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Controller to control the altitude of quadcopter and obstacle detection. Now a day’s advancement in technology has made it possible to develop low power and lightweight with accurate sensors which are used with controllers for controlling, which have high processing power but small power consumption. This has been allowed for the development of complex and difficult control systems that can be implemented onboard UAV. With this combination of high precision and light weight, real-time onboard navigation or guidance and autonomous flights are now practical. This research work used a Fuzzy controller to control the pitch angle of quadcopter and avoiding obstacles. The fuzzy controller receives the sensory data and adjust the pitch accordingly until unless it finds the clear path. For detecting obstacles the IR sensors are used. For designing a fuzzy inference system used Sugeno model and used mat lab commands to design ANFIS as we have another method for designing by using a Simulink as well. ANFIS designed is based on kinematics and dynamics equation of quadcopter that will be able to control the pitch of quadcopter. Simulations results in mat lab show that by using ANFIS the performance of Quadcopter will be improved significantly.

Comparative effectiveness of wild bee pollination on the post-harvest characteristics of Grewia asiatica (Malvaceae)

Akram Waseem,Sajjad Asif,Ali Mudssar,Ahmad Ammad,Ali Intazar,Saddiq Bushra,Yasin Muhammad,Anjum Aqueel Muhammad 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.3

Measuring the pollination potential of different native bees is helpful in identifying the most efficient species for their conservation and proper utilization. The current study was carried out at the Research Farm of The Islamia University of Bahawalpur to compare the pollination efficiency of four native bee species: Apis dorsata, Megachile bicolor, M. cephalotes and Megachile (Callomegachile) sp. Apis dorsata was the most abundant floral visitor of Grewia asiatica comprising 36.46% of floral visitors following by M. cephalotes and Megachile sp. The peak abundance of A. dorsata and M. bicolor was recorded at 12:00 and 08:00, respectively whereas for M. cephalotes and Megachile sp. at 16:00. Visitation frequency, stay time, body and proboscis length were significantly higher in A. dorsata whereas visitation rate, pollen load and pollen deposition were significantly higher in M. bicolor. The maximum fruit weight was recorded when M. bicolor and Megachile sp. had been the pollinators. The post-harvest fruit weight loss was lower in M. bicolor pollinated fruit -with more gradual wrinkling- than in fruit that had resulted from pollination by A. dorsata, M. cephalotes and Megachile sp. Our results suggest that M. bicolor was better pollinator of G. asiatica in terms of its reproductive success and post-harvest qualities. Further studies should focus on conservation of M. bicolor in the region.

CA 15-3 (Mucin-1) and Physiological Characteristics of Breast Cancer from Lahore, Pakistan

Begum, Mumtaz,Karim, Sajjad,Malik, Arif,Khurshid, Rukhshan,Asif, Muhammad,Salim, Asmat,Nagra, Saeed Ahmed,Zaheer, Ahmad,Iqbal, Zafar,Abuzenadah, Adel Mohammed,Alqahtani, Mohammed Hussain,Rasool, Mahmo Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.10

Background: High incidence of breast cancer and its fatal effect has reached an alarming stage across the globe, including the third world countries. Many factors have been reported to be associated with the development of breast cancer but detailed structural and functional information is missing. CA 15-3 is one of the known potential tumor marker of breast cancer; however little is known about structure and functional site of this protein. Present study aims to investigate the functional role of CA 15-3 in breast cancer, especially in development and metastasis. Material and Methods: Hundred female breast cancer patients confirmed by histopathological reports were included in the study. Their physiological characters were recorded in a performa. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was used to estimate serum CA 15-3 level. Immunohistochemistry was done for estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and Her2/neu receptors expression. Results: The study revealed the details of physiological characteristics of female breast cancer. Mean age was $37.72{\pm}5.99$ and $55.05{\pm}7.28$ years and serum CA 15-3 (MUC1) level was $60.47{\pm}8.59$ and $63.17{\pm}4.58$ U/ml in pre and post-menopause respectively, and both groups of women had sedentary life style. Their receptor status especially of progesterone, estrogen and HER-2/neu were positive in 50% of premenopausal women and 65% of postmenopausal women. Conclusion: There are multiple physiological factors promoting breast cancer. High serum CA 15-3 level and hormonal imbalance of ER, PR and Her2/neu appears to be the main cause of breast cancer. It may be possible that the functional sites of these proteins may be altered which may increase the chances of metastasis in breast cancer.