Skill Shortage versus Subject Choice, Case of Pakistan

Higher Education is believed to be a very important determinant of economic growth. The growth can be optimized with a suitable combination of skills in various subjects. A mismatch between required combination of skills and available combination of skills carries heavy costs for developing economies since import of skill from foreign is much more in expensive for such economies. We compare skill shortage in Pakistan with the subjects choice of students recently enrolled in institutes of higher learning. We found that there is a mismatch between skill shortage and the enrollment trend. We propose that the Government should regulate recruitment of students into various subjects in order to create greater harmony between national needs and students enrollment.Subject Choice, Skill Shortage, National Needs

Development Of Saponin Based Wettable Powder Formulation from Phaleria macrocarpa To Control Pomacea maculate

Apple snail is one of the 100 invasive alien species of the world and saponin proved to be the most effective and promising bioactive compound to manage this pest. This study was conducted to develop a saponin based wettable powder formulation from Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Borel and to evaluate its efficacy against Pomacea maculata Perry undrer laboratory and glasshouse conditions. Results revealed that all prepared saponin based wettable formulations shown molluscicide effects towards P. maculata. However, F4 formulation consisted of Terwet® 157, Terspers® 2700 and Kaolin at proportion of 15:15:70 revealed significantly higher feeding deterrent activities among prepared formulations and it was not significantly different from positive controls niclosamide and tea seed cake. In terms of lethel effects, the shortest LT50 (154 minutes) was recorded in niclosamide followed by 702 minutes in F4 formulation and 728 minutes in tea seed cake. F4 formulation along with positive control tea seed cake was further assessed in glasshouse condition. F4 formulation illustrated shortest LT50 value (750 minutes) with lowest feeding consumption percentage (0.6%) compared to LT50 (784 minutes) and feeding consumption percentage (1.3%) in positive control tea seed cake. Feeding consumption percentage (40.6%) was recorded for negative control water. Results sugest that F4 saponin based wettable powder overall performed better and can be efficiently used to control the apple snails as an eco friendly botanical molluscicide

Effect of Synthesis methods on the Properties of Magnetic Material

Ba1-xPbxFe12O19 composition (x=0.0 to 1.0) synthesized by Co-precipitation and Sol-Gel methods. In Coprecipitation method BaCO3, PbO and Fe (NO3)3 .9H2O were used as basic ingredients. Acids and Di-H2O were used as solvents. Molar ratio of cations was 12. pH of solution kept constant at 13. All samples sintered at 965±5oC for three hours. Lead own properties, synthesis at room temperature and substitution in R-block of structure were the reasons for decrease of phase purity from ?x? =0.0 to 70% for ?x?=1.0. Decrease in phase purity and heterogeneity of material caused the properties to decrease. In Sol gel method, Nitrates (salts) and Ethylene glycol (liquid) were the basic material used. The mixed solutions dried out on a hot plate whose temperature was maintained constant at 200±2oC. Pellets formed by applying suitable hydraulic pressure and then sintered at same temperature written above i.e. 965±5oC for three hours. 100% phase purity achieved. All properties modified. Temperature and frequency dependent electrical properties investigated and reported here. DC and AC obtained properties were useful for different electronics and computer devices like capacitors, smart storage devices and multilayer chip inductors. Overall, both these properties improved through solgelmethod as compared to co-precipitation method. It was because of improvement in phase purity and change inmorphology of synthesized material

Impact of Hydropower Projects on Economic Growth of AJK.

According to official estimates, territory of Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a potential to generate about 4600 MW of hydroelectricity, the cheapest source of energy. Total deficit in energy Pakistan is facing these days is about 5000 MW. So, only AJK can fulfill more than 90% of deficit of now demanded energy for entire country. Beside this direct and explicit advantage of hydropower projects to power sector, these projects may be extremely useful in improving many economic and social indicators at local and national level. Many socioeconomic indicators reveal that Azad Kashmir is there is huge gap in development level of AJK and National level. Development of power sector is extremely important to fill this gap. In this paper, we analyze effect of possible implementation of these projects on various economic and social sectors at local and national level. We discuss the obstacles in implementation of projects and recommendations are given at the end

Performance of blended cement concrete exposed to marine environment

Reinforced concrete exposed to the marine environment deteriorates more rapidly. Structures constructed at or near the sea shore have to be repaired more often than comparable structures located elsewhere. This study was carried out to develop an understanding of the performance of concrete made up of cements blended by pozzolanic materials. Several mix designs were formulated, incorporating the pozzolans like slag, fly ash and silica fume and calcium nitrate as the corrosion inhibitor. Mix designs were in accordance with ACI 211-1 and pozzolanic materials were added in accordance with ACI 233 and ACI 234. A number of tests were carried out during the study to compare the performance of samples cast from concrete of different mix designs. Tests conducted during the study were Rapid Migration Test (NT Build 492), Half Cell Potential (ASTM C 876), Absorptivity of the oven-dried samples (ASTM C 642), Compressive Strength Test (ASTM C 39) and Flexural Strength Test (ASTM C 293). Results showed that in almost all cases, use of cements blended with pozzolanic materials resulted in an enhanced performance of the concrete. Use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) in concrete provides a sustainable and feasible solution to the durability problems in coastal areas. Replacements of OPC by the pozzolan will not only help in conservation of natural resources, but it will also contribute towards reducing pollution and energy

Impact of Hydropower Projects on Economic Growth of AJK.

According to official estimates, territory of Azad Jammu & Kashmir has a potential to generate about 4600 MW of hydroelectricity, the cheapest source of energy. Total deficit in energy Pakistan is facing these days is about 5000 MW. So, only AJK can fulfill more than 90% of deficit of now demanded energy for entire country. Beside this direct and explicit advantage of hydropower projects to power sector, these projects may be extremely useful in improving many economic and social indicators at local and national level. Many socioeconomic indicators reveal that Azad Kashmir is there is huge gap in development level of AJK and National level. Development of power sector is extremely important to fill this gap. In this paper, we analyze effect of possible implementation of these projects on various economic and social sectors at local and national level. We discuss the obstacles in implementation of projects and recommendations are given at the end

Comparative Study of Conventional Electrocautery Versus Ultrasonic Dissector in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is very commonly performed for removal of gallstones. In routine, ultrasonic devices are used for laparoscopy involving the deeper operating fields, while electrosurgical devices are preferred for LC. However, nowadays both of these devices are used for LC. The objective of this study was to compare the surgical outcomes of ultrasonic dissector over conventional electrocautery in patients planned for LC. Material and Methods: This non-randomized clinical trial was conducted in general surgery unit, Jinnah hospital Lahore. The study duration was 15th January 2015 to 31st December 2016. In group A (n=100), patients were operated through three-port standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy and conventional electrosurgical cautery was used for dissection. While in group B (n=50), patients were operated through single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) and Harmonic dissector was used for sealing of cystic artery and cystic duct. SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. Complications between electrocautery and ultrasonic dissector were compared using chi-square test/Fischer exact test and operative time was compared using student’s t-test with p-value ≤ 0.05 considered as statistically significant.Results: Out of 150 patients planned for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 33 (22%) were males and 117 (78%) females. The mean age was 40±6.45 years with an age range of 12-80 years. In group A, intraoperative gall bladder perforation was found in 5 patients whereas in group B, there was only one patient with perforation. A total of 4 cases were converted to open cholecystectomy in group A due to difficult dissection in Calot’s triangle as compared to 1 case in group B. In group A, 3 cases had postoperative bile leakage in the drain. In two patients it settled over a period of 3 days. About 03 cases had wound infection in group A and 1 in group B. Mean operative time in group A was 42.2±8.93 minutes versus 35.7±4.85 minutes in group B (p-value 0.001).Conclusion: In this study, the rate of post-operative complications was similar between the two groups, but operative time was significantly shorter in the group B. Harmonic dissector enabled easy dissection of tissues with good hemostasis and less trafficking of instrument, avoiding use of clips and sutures during minimal invasive surgery