Growth of Citrus Fruits in Pakistan

Agriculture is a chief source of economic development and workforce of Pakistan as it contributes 18.5 percent to GDP (Gross Domestic Product), provides 37.4 percent to employment. A well-performing agriculture sector is a key to economic growth but over the decade its performance had been diminutive in Pakistan. Low yield of citrus fruits that is the challenge facing developing countries including Pakistan. The current article identifies information and issues with citrus fruits growth in Pakistan. For the year 2018 area under citrus fruits was 200461 hectares with a production of 2247956 tonnes and yield 112139 hg/hectare in Pakistan. Pakistani farmers are cultivating sweet oranges more than other varieties of citrus fruits. With respect to bordering countries the average yield of Pakistan is more than Afghanistan and less than Iran, China and India. Main constraints to less productivity are: high cost of production, price-instability, and lack of capital, professionalism, technology & infrastructure. Pets and diseases also causes to less yield. Pakistan can earn foreign exchange more by export of juices rather than export of fresh citrus fruits

History matters in making Lahore sustainable

Lahore, the second-largest city of Pakistan, is facing sharp population growth and economic development coupled with increased motorisation and a deteriorating urban environment. This is due to a long history of investment into roads and low-density suburban housing development in Lahore which increases motorisation. This paper provides a historical overview of urban planning in Lahore by shedding light on the Mughal and the British period of development followed by the post-independence planning paradigm in the city. This paper examines the contradictions and uncertainties that have characterised urban planning in Lahore in the pre and post-independence period by using a sustainable city and sustainable transport literature. The analysis shows that Lahore traditionally attracted investment in the high-quality roads infrastructure (flyovers, underpasses and a ring road) and recently in the country first ever Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system (2013) and Metro Train project (2018) in the city. The paper argues that the Lahore BRT and Metro train projects can provide a window of opportunity to redefine transport and land use issues and offer a transit-oriented development (TOD) solutions in Lahore

Towards optimal multimode fiber imaging by leveraging input polarization and conditional generative adversarial networks

Deep learning techniques provide a plausible route towards achieving practical imaging through multimode fibers. However, the results produced by these methods are often influenced by physical factors like temperature, fiber length, external perturbations, and polarization state of the input light. The impact of other factors, except input light polarization, has been discussed in the literature for imaging applications. The input polarization has been considered by researchers while looking at the characterization and control of polarization in multimode fibers. Here, we show experimentally that the state of polarization of light, being injected at multimode fiber input, affects the fidelity of reconstructed images from speckle patterns. Certain polarization states produce high-quality images at fiber output, while some yield degraded results. We have designed a conditional generative adversarial network~(CGAN) for image regeneration at various degrees of input light polarization. We demonstrate that in the case of multimode fibers that are held fixed, optimal imaging can be achieved by leveraging our CGAN model with the input light polarization state, where the fidelity of images is maximum. Our work exhibits high average structural similarity index values exceeding 0.9, surpassing the previously reported value of 0.8772. We also show that the model can be generalized to image adequately for all input light polarization states when the fiber has bends or twists. We anticipate our work will be a stepping stone toward developing high-resolution and less invasive multimode fiber endoscopes

Simultaneous measurement of quality factor and wavelength shift by phase shift microcavity ring down spectroscopy

Optical resonant microcavities with ultra high quality factors are widely used for biosensing. Until now, the primary method of detection has been based upon tracking the resonant wavelength shift as a function of biodetection events. One of the sources of noise in all resonant-wavelength shift measurements is the noise due to intensity fluctuations of the laser source. An alternative approach is to track the change in the quality factor of the optical cavity by using phase shift cavity ring down spectroscopy, a technique which is insensitive to the intensity fluctuations of the laser source. Here, using biotinylated microtoroid resonant cavities, we show simultaneous measurement of the quality factor and the wavelength shift by using phase shift cavity ring down spectroscopy. These measurements were performed for disassociation phase of biotin-streptavidin reaction. We found that the disassociation curves are in good agreement with the previously published results. Hence, we demonstrate not only the application of phase shift cavity ring down spectroscopy to microcavities in the liquid phase but also simultaneous measurement of the quality factor and the wavelength shift for the microcavity biosensors in the application of kinetics measurements

Integrated Hazard Identification (IHI): A Quick Accident Analysis and Quantification Method for Practitioners

There are many techniques for hazard identification and are divided into shortcut, standard and advanced techniques. Among these, HAZOP and What-If techniques are mostly engaged by practitioners in the chemical process industry. Both of these have certain advantages and limitations, i.e., HAZOP is structured, and what-if covers broad range of scenarios. There is no hazard identification method, which can cover a broad range of scenarios and is structured in nature. For this purpose, a new technique namely integrated hazard identification (IHI) is proposed in this article that integrates HAZOP and What-If. The methodology is demonstrated via hazard identification study of urea synthesis section. Risk ranking is used to sort out the worst-case scenario. This worst-case scenario is further studied in detail for quantification that is performed using the ALOHA software. This quantification has assisted to detect ammonia concentrations in nearby control room and surroundings for worst-case scenario. It is revealed that if ammonia pump is not stopped within 10 minutes, concentration inside and outside the control room may reach to 384 ppm and 2630 ppm, compared to 1100 ppm (AEGL-3). Thus the proposed method would be easy, time saving and covers more details and would be handy for practicing engineers working in different chemical process industries

Learning from the past: Analysis of disaster management structures, policies and institutions in Pakistan

Purpose: The paper provides a historical analysis of the disaster management structure, policies and institutions in Pakistan between 1947 and 2005, and highlights the contemporary challenges in view of the learning from the past. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a historic-integrative case study approach to disaster management and risk reduction policy, planning and practice. Qualitative data was collected through purposive sampling and a case study design was adopted. A broad range of actors was recruited as research participants. In total, 22 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in relation to this study in six different districts of Pakistan to achieve insight into the role of different institutions and stakeholders. Findings: Overall, the post-colonial flood-centric policy framework and fragmented responsibilities of different disaster management institutions show the lack of an effective institutional structure for disaster management and mitigation in Pakistan, particularly at the local level. Until the event of the 2005 earthquake, policies heavily relied on attaining immediate and short-term goals of Response and Relief while ignoring the long-term objectives of strategic planning for Prevention and Preparedness as well as capacity building and empowerment of local institutions and communities. Practical implications: The analysis explains, in part, why disaster planning and management needs to be given due attention in the developing countries at different policy scales (from local to national) especially in the face of limited resources, and what measures should be taken to improve effectiveness at different phases of the disaster management cycle. Originality/value: The paper advances the importance of a historical case study approach to disaster management and mitigation. The empirical work provides original research evidence about the approaches to dealing with disasters in Pakistan and thus enriches existing knowledge of disaster management policy and planning about the country

Accurate determination of the quality factor and tunneling distance of axisymmetric resonators for biosensing applications

Due to ultra high quality factor ($10^6-10^9$), axisymmetric optical microcavities are popular platforms for biosensing applications. It has been recently demonstrated that a microcavity biosensor can track a biodetection event as a function of its quality factor by using phase shift cavity ring down spectroscopy (PS-CRDS). However, to achieve maximum sensitivity, it is necessary to optimize the microcavity parameters for a given sensing application. Here, we introduce an improved finite element model which allows us to determine the optimized geometry for the PS-CRDS sensor. The improved model not only provides fast and accurate determination of quality factors but also determines the tunneling distance of axisymmetric resonators. The improved model is validated numerically, analytically, and experimentally.Comment: Published in Optics Express, April 2, 201

Impact of Service quality on customer satisfaction: a study of hotel industry of Faisalabad, Pakistan

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the hotels’ service quality through customer satisfaction. Theory tells us that if the customers are satisfied then the hotels are providing higher service quality. And also check that which dimensions of SERVPREF is need to be focused more in Pakistan. For this purpose SERVPERF tool was adopted and administrative to customers who stayed in the hotels of Faisalabad, Pakistan. The results indicates that in Pakistan among the five dimensions of SERFPERF the dimension tangible and empathy needed to be focused more

Spontaneous Abortions in Women of Lahore belonging to low-socioeconomic status

Objective: Assessment of abortion frequency in women of Karachi’s low socio-economic statusMaterial and Methods: A cross-sectional research was carried out on a group of 300 females. The participants of the sample group were the females from low socio-economic class of Lahore’s different hospital such as Mayo Hospital, Services Hospital, General Hospital, Surgimed Hospital, Fatima Memorial Hospital, and Ganga Ram Hospital for six months period commencing from March 2018 to August 2018. A self-administered survey form/questionnaire was circulated and after the informed oral consent from the females it was filled out. An experimental study was done for the assessment of the questionnaire’s validity. SPSS version 20 was used for the data analysis with confidence interval 95%, 5% as margin of error and value of p 0.05 was regarded significant.Results: An interview was conducted of 300 females through the questionnaire. The females’ median age was 25-40 years. Monthly income of 65.1% family was below Rs 10,000/- and the income of 82 females was 11,000 to 17,000. 173 females (57.66 %) with vaginal bleeding signifying  the risk of abortion visited the doctor  (p value 0.037), Ultra Sound revealed the abnormality of aborted baby of 174 females (58 %, p value 0.040), during the first trimester of pregnancy 121 females (40.33%) had infections (p value 0.029),during the first trimester of pregnancy, 92 females (30.6%) had used antibiotic capsule for infection (p value 0.040), 71 females (23.6%) had trauma (p value 0.003), 172 females (57.33%) were having cervical incompetence (p value 0.021) and during the pregnancy the females who had lifted the heavy stuff were 61.2% (p value 0.059).Conclusion: The research has concluded that the rate of abortion risk in females of low socio-economic class is high and the awareness level is unsatisfactory regarding risk and causing elements of spontaneous abortion. In order to avoid undesired results of pregnancy, more efforts are required to assist both the young and adult females of low socio-economic class. Preventive measures are critically required to be taken in order to save the health of females and children of low socio-economic status.Key Words: Awareness, Cervical Incompetence, infection, Spontaneous Abortion, Traum