Climate Change and Drought: Impact of Food Insecurity on Gender Based Vulnerability in District Tharparkar

Climate change has now become a reality that has intensified the sufferings of people living in arid ecosystems. Decrease in rainfall, rise in temperature and increase in the frequency of extreme events are some of the changes observed in the semi-arid desert of district Tharparkar. For thousands of years, people of Tharparkar are coping with drought and aridity of the land by using indigenous knowledge. However, global changes in the climatic pattern and deterioration of social and economic conditions have pushed the inhabitants of this arid region into extreme vulnerable situation. This paper investigates the link between climate-induced natural disasters, particularly drought, from the perspective of changing climate patterns which have resulted in food insecurity and water scarcity. The paper analyses the rainfall pattern in the last 38 years—dividing it into two periods i.e. from 1975-1994 and 1995-2014. The findings of the paper have challenged the prevailing notions about aridity and rainfall patterns in Tharparkar district. The research found that there is an increase in average annual precipitation in the district with erratic patterns. Thus, the nature of drought in the district has changed from its historic pattern of less or no rainfall to more but erratic rainfall that is more threatening to livelihoods of the people that in turn have multiplier effect on water and food insecurity. In particularly, women are more vulnerable in the absence of social security and lack of basic necessities for their survival amidst drought. For instance, traditionally the burden of managing water resources falls on women, which leads to an increased work load during the time of drought and also water scarcity. JEL Classification: Q54, Q56, Q25, I30 Keywords: Climate, Environment and Development, Drought, Water, Povert

AN IMPROVED TOPOLOGY OF SINGLE-PHASE LINEAR PERMANENT MAGNET GENERATOR FOR WAVE ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM

Ocean wave energy is one of the leading energy sources and contains enormous amount of power that can be harnessed in a variety of methods. This research aims to develop a simple, lightweight and high efficiency linear generator for point absorber wave energy conversion syste

AN IMPROVED TOPOLOGY OF SINGLE-PHASE LINEAR PERMANENT MAGNET GENERATOR FOR WAVE ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM

Ocean wave energy is one of the leading energy sources and contains enormous amount of power that can be harnessed in a variety of methods. This research aims to develop a simple, lightweight and high efficiency linear generator for point absorber wave energy conversion syste

An Optimum Solution for Electric Power Theft

Electric power theft is a problem that continues to plague power sector across the whole country. Every year, the electricity companies face the line losses at an average 20-30% and according to power ministry estimation WAPDA companies lose more than Rs. 125 billion. Significantly, it is enough to destroy the entire power sector of country. According to sources 20% losses means the masses would have to pay extra 20% in terms of electricity tariffs. In other words, the innocent consumers pay the bills of those who steal electricity. For all that, no any permanent solution for this major issue has ever been proposed. We propose an applicable and optimum solution for this impassable problem. In our research, we propose an Electric power theft solution based on three stages; Transmission stage, Distribution stage, and User stage. Without synchronization among all, the complete solution can not be achieved. The proposed solution is simulated on NI (National Instruments) Circuit Design Suite Multisim v.10.0. Our research work is an implicit and a workable approach towards the Electric power theft, as for conditions in Pakistan, which is bearing the brunt of power crises alread

Design and Co-Simulation of Depth Estimation Using Simulink HDL Coder and Modelsim

In this paper a novel VHDL design procedure of depth estimation algorithm using HDL (Hardware Description Language) Coder is presented. A framework is developed that takes depth estimation algorithm described in MATLAB as input and generates VHDL code, which dramatically decreases the time required to implement an application on FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). In the first phase, design is carriedout in MATLAB. Using HDL Coder, MATLAB floating- point design is converted to an efficient fixed-point design and generated VHDL Code and test-bench from fixed point MATLAB code. Further, the generated VHDL code of design is verified with co-simulation using Mentor Graphic ModelSim10.3d software. Simulation results are presented which indicate that VHDL simulations match with the MATLAB simulations and confirm the efficiency of presented methodology

Optimization of Linear Permanent Magnet (PM) Generator with Triangular-Shaped Magnet for Wave Energy Conversion using Finite Element Method

This paper presents the design optimization of linear permanent magnet (PM) generator for wave energy conversion using finite element method (FEM). A linear PM generator with triangular-shaped magnet is proposed, which has higher electromagnetic characteristics, superior performance and low weight as compared to conventional linear PM generator with rectangular shaped magnet. The Individual Parameter (IP) optimization technique is employed in order to optimize and achieve optimum performance of linear PM generator. The objective function, optimization variables; magnet angle,M_θ(∆) (θ), the pole-width ratio, P_w ratio(τ_p/τ_mz),, and split ratio between translator and stator, δ_a ratio(R_m/R_e), and constraints are defined. The efficiency and its main parts; copper and iron loss are computed using time-stepping FEM. The optimal values after optimization are presented which yields highest efficiency. Ke

Assessment of maximum sustainable yield of <i>Acanthopagrus berda</i> from Pakistani marine waters by applying surplus production models

1410-1416Picnic Sea bream (Acanthopagrus berda) fishery in the Northern Arabian Sea from Pakistani marine waters was analyzed using catch and effort data (1991-2008). Maximum, minimum and average catch was recorded as 1088 mt in 1999, 586 mt in 1991 and 828 mt year-1 respectively. MSY (Maximum sustainable yield) and other key fish population parameters of K (carrying capacity), q (catchability coefficient), r (intrinsic population growth rate) and CV (coefficient variation) values of the calculated MSY were estimated by CEDA (catch and effort data analysis) and ASPIC (a surplus production model incorporating covariates) computer software packages. The fishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield FMSY = 0.114 from logistic model and FMSY= 0.057 from Fox model was estimated by ASPIC. The stock biomass given MSY BMSY = 11990 (CV= 0.083) from Fox model and MSY BMSY = 13630 (CV= 0.037) was estimated in ASPIC. In CEDA the initial proportion (IP) of 0.5 was used, because starting catch was approximately 50% of the maximum catch. The estimated results of MSY using CEDA with three surplus production models Fox, Schaefer and Pella Tomlinson under three error assumptions of Normal, Log-Normal and Gamma were about 620-800 mt, which was lower than the catch of 897 mt in 2008, indicating that the A. berda fishery in the marine waters of Pakistan has been overexploited, therefore it is suggested that measures should be taken to reduce fishing effort for the rational exploitation of the fishery

Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and its Correlation with Liver Function Test

Objective: To determine Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score and its association with LFT values in patients of psoriasis. Methodology: This cross-sectional study, was done on patients visiting the skin OPD of LUMHS Jamshoro/Hyderabad. Diagnosed patients of Psoriasis, aged between 18 and 50 years and both genders were included. A 5cc blood sample was collected from each individual to evaluate the LFT. Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores was defined based on the percentage of body surface area affected by psoriasis lesion. All the information was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: The mean age of the patients was 44.81±11.10 years. Out of the total 102 patients, 74.5% were male patients and 25.5% were female. The mean duration of psoriasis was 6.46 ± 4.49 years. Out of all 32.4% had mild psoriasis (PASI &lt; 7), 40.2% had moderate psoriasis (PASI 8-12), and 27.5% had severe psoriasis (PASI &gt; 12). Regarding LFT values, 73.5% had elevated alanine transaminase (ALT), 32.4% had elevated aspartate transaminase (AST), 70.6% had elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP), 68.6% had elevated bilirubin, and 67.6% had elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). AST and GGT levels rise significantly linked to PASI (p- &lt;0.05). Conversely, for ALP and Bilirubin levels, there is no significant difference across severity of PASI (p- &gt;0.05). Conclusion: Patients with severe psoriasis exhibit a predisposition to hepatic dysfunction. Study observed abnormalities in liver function tests (LFT) among psoriatic patients, suggesting a potential link to liver disease development