Design of Solar PV System for Educational Institutes in Rural Areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Pakistan is the country facing deficiency of electrical power. The metropolitan areas of the country, however, have the moderate electric energy supply while rural areas suffer from the problem of no supply of electric energy as one of the serious problems in these areas. In this paper, the Solar PV System parameters are calculated for educational institutes as the solution of this no or insufficient electric energy supply in rural areas of Kpk. The main aim of this research is to increase the social and computer literacy level in these areas keeping in mind the cost effectiveness of the Solar PV system. Computer literacy rate improvement requires the uninterrupted power supply in rural areas which can be done by the installation of Solar PV System in these areas. The average load of one High, one Middle and one Primary school is forecasted for computer labs is made on daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. The current WAPDA supply system for these areas is examined which is insufficient for the operation of computer labs in educational institutions. According to the WAPDA tariff rules, the electricity consumption for operating computer labs in these schools have been calculated if there is uninterrupted electric power supply. At the end the cost effectiveness of the WAPDA power supply system and that of the proposed Solar PV System is analyzed. At the end it has been concluded that Solar PV System is the best option for eliminating the electric energy supply problem for improving the social living standards and computer literacy in these areas

政策改革がパキスタンの貿易実績に及ぼした影響の計量経済学的分析

公共政策プログラム / Public Policy Program政策研究大学院大学 / National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies論文審査委員: Kaliappa Kalirajan（主査）, Jonna P. Estudillo, 大山 達雄, Wade Pfau, ナーワーラゲ・Ｓ・クーレイ（国際大学

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks blended polysulfone hollow fiber membranes for natural gas purification

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have received world-wide attention for natural gas purification due to their superior performance in terms of permeability and selectivity. In this study, zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF) based polysulfone (PSf) hollow fiber membranes were fabricated for natural gas purification. A new micron-sized leaf-like ZIF (ZIF-L) and hexagonal nano-sized ZIF-8 were synthesized in an aqueous basic solution at room temperature with the same molar ratio of reagents (Zn+2/Hmim = 8). Furthermore, various moles of triethylamine (TEA)/total moles ratio of reactants ranging from 0–0.006 were used. Both ZIF powders were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, CO2 temperature programmed desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and surface area and pores textural properties using nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. ZIF- 8 particles have shown improved thermal stability, textural properties, basic sites and CO2 adsorption capacity compared to ZIF-L. The neat PSf membrane and mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes incorporated with the various loading of ZIF-8 ranging from 0–1.25% were fabricated at bore fluid rate of 1.5 and 1.8 ml/min. The prepared membranes were further investigated with respect to their structural morphology, thermal stability, functional groups, surface roughness and finally gas separation performance. The gas permeation results at room temperature showed that fabricated MMM at 1.8 ml/min of bore fluid and loaded with 0.5 wt% of ZIF-8 showed 28% higher CO2/CH4 selectivity at 6 bar (g) feed pressure compared to neat PSf membrane. High loading of ZIF-8 =0.75 wt% deteriorated the separation performances. However, CO2/CH4 selectivity decreased at elevated pressure (8 and 10 bar) due to CO2-induced plasticization. The amine modification of ZIF-8 particles with 25 ml ammonium hydroxide solution at room temperature was found to significantly improve textural properties, basic sites strength and CO2 desorption capacity. MMM prepared at 1.8 ml/min of bore fluid rate and loaded with 0.25 wt% of amine modified ZIF-8 showed 18% increase in CO2/CH4 selectivity compared to unmodified ZIF-8 based membrane. The amine modification was proven to be a membrane’s anti-plasticization agent with superior gas separation performance at elevated pressure. In comparison to the neat PSf membrane, amine modified MMM prepared at the bore fluid rate of 1.8 ml/min has shown 50, 72 and 69% higher selectivity at 6, 8 and 10 bar (g) feed pressure respectively. Also, the selectivity of A-M0.25 was 18% higher than unmodified ZIF-8 based MMM at 6 bar (g) feed pressure. The permeance of both gases decreased at an acceptable level with an increase of selectivity at elevated pressure. Hence, the promising results obtained in this study has demonstrated the potential of amine modified ZIF-8 based MMMs for natural gas purification

Potential of machine learning/Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI) for verifying configurations of 5G multi Radio Access Technology (RAT) base station

Abstract. The enhancements in mobile networks from 1G to 5G have greatly increased data transmission reliability and speed. However, concerns with 5G must be addressed. As system performance and reliability improve, ML and AI integration in products and services become more common. The integration teams in cellular network equipment creation test devices from beginning to end to ensure hardware and software parts function correctly. Radio unit integration is typically the first integration phase, where the radio is tested independently without additional network components like the BBU and UE. 5G architecture and the technology that it is using are explained further. The architecture defined by 3GPP for 5G differs from previous generations, using Network Functions (NFs) instead of network entities. This service-based architecture offers NF reusability to reduce costs and modularity, allowing for the best vendor options for customer radio products. 5G introduced the O-RAN concept to decompose the RAN architecture, allowing for increased speed, flexibility, and innovation. NG-RAN provided this solution to speed up the development and implementation process of 5G. The O-RAN concept aims to improve the efficiency of RAN by breaking it down into components, allowing for more agility and customization. The four protocols, the eCPRI interface, and the functionalities of fronthaul that NGRAN follows are expressed further. Additionally, the significance of NR is described with an explanation of its benefits. Some benefits are high data rates, lower latency, improved spectral efficiency, increased network flexibility, and improved energy efficiency. The timeline for 5G development is provided along with different 3GPP releases. Stand-alone and non-stand-alone architecture is integral while developing the 5G architecture; hence, it is also defined with illustrations. The two frequency bands that NR utilizes, FR1 and FR2, are expressed further. FR1 is a sub-6 GHz frequency band. It contains frequencies of low and high values; on the other hand, FR2 contains frequencies above 6GHz, comprising high frequencies. FR2 is commonly known as the mmWave band. Data collection for implementing the ML approaches is expressed that contains the test setup, data collection, data description, and data visualization part of the thesis work. The Test PC runs tests, executes test cases using test libraries, and collects data from various logs to analyze the system’s performance. The logs contain information about the test results, which can be used to identify issues and evaluate the system’s performance. The data collection part describes that the data was initially present in JSON files and extracted from there. The extraction took place using the Python code script and was then fed into an Excel sheet for further analysis. The data description explains the parameters that are taken while training the models. Jupyter notebook has been used for visualizing the data, and the visualization is carried out with the help of graphs. Moreover, the ML techniques used for analyzing the data are described. In total, three methods are used here. All the techniques come under the category of supervised learning. The explained models are random forest, XG Boost, and LSTM. These three models form the basis of ML techniques applied in the thesis. The results and discussion section explains the outcomes of the ML models and discusses how the thesis will be used in the future. The results include the parameters that are considered to apply the ML models to them. SINR, noise power, rxPower, and RSSI are the metrics that are being monitored. These parameters have variance, which is essential in evaluating the quality of the product test setup, the quality of the software being tested, and the state of the test environment. The discussion section of the thesis explains why the following parameters are taken, which ML model is most appropriate for the data being analyzed, and what the next steps are in implementation

ISO Certifications: Trends & Scope in Pakistan

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the trends and scope of ISO Certifications awarded in Pakistan, based on survey and literature review during last decade from 2004-2014. This research is descriptive & exploratory in nature. Data source for the study is ISO Survey of Management System Standard Certifications – 2014 and literature review on ISO Certification from Pakistan’s context. Analysis of data is carried out using statistical tools i.e. SPSS, Excel. The analysis of data shows that the number of certifications awarded over a period of time represents continuous positive increasing trends & wide scope for adoption of ISO in Pakistan in most of industrial and business sectors not limited to exports only.  Increasing trends are predicting good future of ISO certification in Pakistan and a great business opportunity for certification bodies and career opportunities for professionals. It also depicts commitment to Quality Management Practices & organizational competitiveness. It could have long lasting effects on import and export sectors also and new investments in Pakistan. Negative impacts could be financial challenges for smaller firms as they could invest on these certifications to compete in market. This paper could be very useful for students and researchers to further investigate in this area and a knowledge sources. On the basis of ISO Survey (2014), it could be asserted that there is a strong potential for positive trends & scope of ISO certifications in Pakistan in coming years in different business sectors. Keywords: ISO, Certifications, Trends, Quality Management, Competitivenes

Bureaucracy and Public Management Reforms: Evidence from Pakistan

The paper examines administrative performance and public management reforms in Pakistan. The study is based on the expert opinion of the civil servants gathered via 27 semi-structured interviews. Pakistan has inherited the administrative structure from the British colonial raj. Although there have been numerous reforms aimed at improving administrative performance, none of them have been implemented adequately. The changes pursued in the first two decades were related to enhancing the administrative performance by creating an adequate structure of administrative posts and ensuring a fair remuneration system. The first full reform package was presented in the 1970s with steps to improve the civil service performance and nationalization of significant banks and industries. The New Public Management (NPM) inspired the Pakistani government to adopt the policies of managerialism and privatization during the 1990s. The government intended to remove the status quo and privatize the public sector industries. This reform was successful only with regard to the privatization of some sectors and banks. The remaining reform programme failed mostly because of political instability, weak political will, political interference with the reform process, etc. The semi-structured interviews conducted with Pakistani civil servants tackled the public administration problems and their possible solutions. The respondents suggested that an indigenous public management model should be created. They indicated that the government should firmly support the implementation of reform measures. Civil servants should get salaries according to their expertise. There must be a well-defined and up to date performance and evaluation system able to ensure performance-based promotions, rewards, and punishments