Comparison of Surgical Outcomes of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) Shunt at Choudhary’s Point vs. Keen’s Point

Objectives:  The study compared the outcomes of VP shunt at Choudhary’s vs Keen’s point. Material and Methods:  A quasi-observational study was conducted on 50 patients who presented to NS-2, PINS, with the complaint of hydrocephalus. The study was conducted for 3 months from 1st November 2021 to 31th Jan 2022. Results:  Mean age was 40 years. In 25 (50%) patients, VP shunts were done through Choudhary’s point while in 25 (50%) patients VP shunts were done through Keen’s point. All patients were evaluated on day 3rd POD, 7th POD, 15th POD, and 90th POD.  All patients were improved on 3rd POD. On the 7th POD, 15 (30%) patients deteriorated and showed signs of raised ICP. In these patients, the upper end of VP shunts is again revised due to blockage. On 15th POD, the upper end of VP shunts was blocked in 3 (6%) patients and their upper end was revised. On 90th POD, 2 (4%) patients were presented with upper-end blockage, and again shunt revision was done.  VP shunts in all these patients were done through keen’s point approach. Blockage of the lower end of VP shunt occurred in 10% of patients in which 8% were operated through Keen’s point approach while resting 2% of patients were operated through Choudhary’s point approach.  Conclusion:  VP shunts through Choudhary’s point approach yield good results as compared to Keen's point approach. This site is described by professor Muhammad Anwar Choudhary, as more convenient for insertion of VP shunt

Results of Conservative Management of CSF Rhinorrhea in Post Traumatic Patients

Objectives:  We aimed to see the results of conservative management of CSF rhinorrhea in post-traumatic patients. Material and Methods:  An observational study was conducted on 50 patients for 3 months from 1st November 2021 to 31th Jan 2022. Patients presented to neurosurgery unit II, PINS. All patients had a history of road traffic accidents (RTA). Results:  The age range was 10 – 50 years. The mean age was 25 years. All patients were managed conservatively for one week. We advised complete bed rest to all patients for 2 weeks. Head ends of all patients were slightly inclined from 15 – 30 degrees to reduce pressure in basal cisterns. We gave acetazolamide, mannitol, antibiotics, and anti-epileptic medication to all patients. CSF rhinorrhea in our 43 (86%) patients was stopped completely. In our 5 (10%) patients, CSF rhinorrhea was cured completely after doing a lumbar puncture with drainage of CSF and with the placement of a lumbar drain at a rate of 10 ml per hour. In our 2 (4%) patients, CSF rhinorrhea was not cured. We have to do surgery either by trans cranial or endoscopic repair of CSF rhinorrhea. Conclusion:  CSF rhinorrhea is best cured by conservative management except in 4% of cases

Exploring key physiological attributes of grapevine cultivars under the influence of seasonal environmental variability

Seasonal climatic variability is a key challenge in many grape-growing regions across the globe, affecting phenology, growth, physiological responses, and yield at harvest. Unfavourable climatic conditions impair the plant's physiological processes, such as chlorophyll accumulation, gas exchange and photosynthesis in grapevine leaves. It is critical to unlock the complex physiological behaviour of grapevine cultivars at key phenological stages and under varying environmental conditions. The present study was designed to evaluate the key physiological processes, such as gas exchange, chlorophyll contents and water use efficiency (WUE), of four table grape cultivars at key growth stages under varying environmental conditions of the Pothwar region, in a factorial experimental set up (Location× Year × Cultivar × Phenological stage). The physiological responses of the table grape cultivars were recorded at the 5-leaf stage, full bloom, berry set, veraison and harvest during two consecutive vintages (2019 and 2020) in two locations (Islamabad and Chakwal). The results show that the mean photosynthetic activity in colder Islamabad was 30.7 % higher than in Chakwal, and the transpiration rate and WUE were 10.4 % and 28.6 % higher. Similarly, 12 % higher photosynthetic activity, with 13 % more WUE, was observed in the colder vintage of 2020 compared to that of 2019. The vine physiological activity also varied among cultivars; for example, cv. Sugraone was found to have 12 % more chlorophyll and 30 % higher photosynthetic activity than cv. Kings Ruby. Similarly, higher photosynthetic activity and transpiration rates were recorded at the berry set stage, while WUE peaked near blooming. The biplot analysis for the first two principal components also showed cv. Sugraone to be a highly responsive and physiologically efficient cultivar. The findings of the present research will help to better assess the effect of seasonal variability on vine physiological performance and to identify genotypes with higher photosynthetic potential and WUE. It could also assist in devising vineyard management strategies to better adapt to varying environmental conditions

Internal Model Control (IMC)-Based Active and Reactive Power Control of Brushless Double-Fed Induction Generator with Notch Filter

The increase in demand for electricity and, in particular, green energy has put renewable energy systems at the focal point of energy policy worldwide. The higher reliability of brushless doubly fed induction generators (BDFIGs) makes them suitable for offshore and remote wind energy generation (WEG) applications. Besides, controlling the active and reactive powers in an electrical power system is critical for optimal voltage regulation, reduced power losses, and enhanced utilization of installed equipment. However, the existing literature on BDFIG’s active and reactive power control highlights the poor dynamic response and high transients with harmonic generation during inductive load insertion. It is because the Ziegler technique was employed to select PI gains, and the instantaneous reactive power theory was used to mitigate harmonics. Considering that, this paper proposes a vector control (VC) method for BDFIGs in wind turbines, in which the proportional-integral (PI) gains for internal model control (IMC) are optimized to improve the dynamic response of the active and reactive power during inductive load insertion. The proposed method reduces the complexity, time consumption, and uncertainty in making the optimal choice. In addition, to reduce a double fundamental frequency component to the point-of-common-coupling (PCC) voltage, the excellent characteristics of the notch filter are utilized in the grid-side converter (GSC)-based vector control scheme. The simulation results in MATLAB/ Simulink show that the proposed IMC-based vector control scheme with a notch filter provides satisfactory results with a minimum peak value compared to existing techniques

Parameters extraction of photovoltaic cells using swarm intelligence based optimization technique: research on single diode model and double diode model

Solar-energy is a clean source of energy and photovoltaic (PV) panels are constructed from solar cells (SC) which convert energy of light into electricity without any environmental effect. The researchers and policy makers focus on the huge scale adoption of solar panels due to its cleaner production. However, there is non-linear behavior in current-voltage characteristics of solar panels and shortage of data in manufacturer’s datasheet. In order to enhance the efficiency of solar panels it is mandatory to develop the PV panels scheme accurately by extracting the basic parameters. In this research study a mathematical model of two different solar cell models is used such as Single Diode Model (SDM) and Double Diode Model (DDM). The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is used to extract the five and seven unknown parameters of SDM and DDM. The algorithm runs with one thousand iterations to minimize the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) where the RMSE is the vector of five unknown parameters for SDM and seven for DDM. The superiority of proposed PSO algorithm is proved by the optimized results of unrevealed parameters with minimized RMSE of up to 10-3. Optimum parameter values for the solar cell models are applied on the real time data of a 55 mm diameter commercial RTC-France SC. Finally, the results reveal that P-V and I-V curves exhibit smallest deviation between estimated and real time values. The results reveal that the proposed PSO converges to optimal solution with least number of iterations compared to the existing metaheuristic algorithms

The role of techno-economic factors for net zero carbon emissions in Pakistan

The Government of Pakistan has established clean energy transition goals in the national Alternative and Renewable Energy (ARE) Policy. The goal of this policy is to increase the 30% capacity of green energy in total energy mix by 2030. In this regard, the aim of this study is to develop a de-carbonization plan for achieving net zero emissions through the deployment of a green energy system for the period 2021 to 2040 by incorporating the ARE policy targets. The Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP®) software is used for finding the unidirectional causality among gross domestic product, population within the country, energy demand, renewable energy production and CO2 emissions for Pakistan. The results revealed that energy production of 564.16 TWh is enough to meet the energy demand of 480.10 TWh with CO2 emissions of 22.19 million metric tons, having a population of 242.1 million people and GDP growth rate of 5.8%, in the year 2040 in Pakistan. The share of green energy production is 535.07 TWh, which can be utilized fully for meeting energy demand in the country, and almost zero emissions will produce till 2040. CO2 emissions produced by burning natural gas were 20.64 million metric tons in 2020, which then reduced to 3.25 million metric tons in 2040. CO2 emissions produced by burning furnace oil are also reduced from 4.19 million metric tons in 2020 to 2.06 million metric tons in 2040. CO2 emissions produced by burning coal were 24.85 million metric tons in 2020, which then reduced to 16.88 million metric tons in 2040. Energy demand is directly related to the population and GDP of the country, while renewable utilization is inversely proportional to carbon emissions. The declining trend of carbon emissions in Pakistan would help to achieve net zero emissions targets by mid-century. This technique would bring prosperity in the development of a clean, green and sustainable environment