Earthquakes are natural disasters which may result in heavy losses. Accurate prediction of the time and intensity of future earthquakes can lead to minimizing losses due to earthquakes. A number of earthquake predictions have been proposed based on mathematical and statistical models. In this paper, we present an earthquake prediction technique using Bat Algorithm (BA) and Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN). The BA is used to train the weights of the FFNN to predict future earthquakes on the basis of past input data. Experimental results show that our proposed approach is highly comparable and more stable than Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) with respect to accuracy.

A number of strontium-based iron oxides are available for the industrial use. Among them, strontium hexaferrite cobalt iron oxide (Sr 2 Co 2 Fe 12 O 22) is preferred over others due to its better magnetic and electrical properties than others. This material is also extensively used for the absorption of microwave radiations. This study was conducted to account for the synthesis and characterization of Sr 2 Co 2 Fe 12 O 22 nanoparticles and to report their biocompatibility in albino mice. Nanoparticles were synthesised by normal microemulsion, XRD analysis confirmed the single and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed average particle size ranged between 30 and 50 nm. Nine-week-old male mice were intraperitoneally administered with 50 mg/mL of solvent/kg body weight of strontium hexaferrite cobalt iron oxide nanoparticles for 22 days. Control group was maintained in parallel. A series of neurological tests (rota rod, light and dark box, open field and Morris water maze) were conducted in both groups. Blood samples were collected from direct cardiac puncture, and parameters of complete blood count, serum biochemical parameters and antioxidant were determined in liver and brain tissues of all subjects. Analysis of result revealed that all studied neurological test performances varied nonsignificantly (P > 0.05) between the two treatments except clockwise rotations during open field test that were significantly reduced (P ¼ 0.05) in Strontium hexaferrite Cobalt Iron Oxide nanoparticle-treated male albino mice than in the control group. All studied complete blood count and serum parameters varied nonsignificantly (P > 0.05) between two treatments. It was observed that superoxide dismutase concentration was significantly higher (P ¼ 0.05) in the liver of nanoparticle-treated male mice. In conclusion, we are reporting that applied dose of strontium hexaferrite cobalt iron oxide nanoparticles is affecting the exploratory behaviour and antioxidant metabolites of male albino mice.

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The per acre yield of chili in Pakistan is quite low as compared to large producers of this vegetable in the world and can be attributed to an assortment of factors both biotic as well as abiotic. Among biotic factors, chili is susceptible to damping off caused by Pythium spp. and causes lots of damage in Pakistan. There is scantly information on the incidence and severity of Pythium associated with chili. Therefore, the current studies were carried out to determine the incidence and severity of Pythium in the Pothwar region of Pakistan. An overall incidence of 14.08% of Pythium damping off was recorded on chili in Pothwar. Attock showed the maximum incidence of 19.86% followed by Rawalpindi and Chakwal districts having 16.22% and 10.22% disease incidences respectively. Jhelum had the minimum disease incidence of 10.05%. Disease severity was the maximum in district Attock (11.03%) followed by Rawalpindi (9.11%), and was the minimum in Chakwal (5.42%) followed by Jhelum (5.67%). The finding of these studies will be helpful for the farmers in designing control strategies for this pathogen accordingly.