Physico-Chemical Properties and Fertility Status of District Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

Physico-chemical properties of soils in Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab Province, Pakistan, were determined for better management. A total of 3198 soil samples collected from all tehsils of Rahim Yar Khan district (662 samples from Khan Pur, 800 samples from Liaquat Pur, 866 samples from Rahim Yar Khan and 870 soil samples from Sadiq Abad) were tested in Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Bahawalpur, Pakistan during 2011-2013. Soil characteristics of Rahim Yar Khan district were evaluated through physical and chemical analyses. Representative soil samples received/collected from farmers fields were analyzed for texture, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, organic matter (OM), available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents. Texture of the soils varied from sandy loam to loam. About 53% soils had EC values within the normal range (< 4 dS m-1). The pH values of 92% soils ranged from 7.5 to 8.5 with an average of 8.06 and 7% soils had pH > 8.5. About 93% soils were poor (< 0.86%) in organic matter and only 7% soil samples had satisfactory level of organic matter (0.86-1.29%). About 47% soils were poor( < 7 ppm) in available phosphorus,33 % samples had satisfactory level of  available phosphorus (7-14 ppm) and only 20 % samples had adequate level of  available phosphorus (>14 ppm) contents. The K status of most of soils was in satisfactory (50%) and adequate range (43%). The objective of present study is to assess the soil fertility and salinity status of Rahim Yar Khan district for formulation of optimum fertilizer recommendations for different crops grown in the area. Keywords: Soil Analysis, EC, pH, SOM, P, K, Rahim Yar Kha

Anti-leishmanial and cytotoxic activities of extracts from three Pakistani plants

Purpose: To evaluate the in vitro and in vivo anti-leishmanial and cytotoxic activities of extracts of different parts of Lawsonia Inermis, Morus nigra and Ziziphus mauritiana.Methods: The methanol extracts of all three plant materials at concentrations of 10 - 100 μg/mL were tested for their in vitro anti-leishmanial effects on L. tropica KWH23 promastigotes for 24 - 48 h, relative to negative control and amphotericin-B (standard drug). For in vivo anti-leishmanial activity, the extracts were tested against L. tropica-infected albino mice, while cytotoxicity was investigated against mammalian cells (lymphocytes).Results: For Lawsonia Inermis leaves, mean inhibition of extracellular promastigotes at 10, 25, 50 and 100 μg/mL after 48 h were 98.2 ± 0.06, 98.75 ± 1.09, 99.31 ± 0.00 and 100.00 ± 0.00 %, respectively. After 8 weeks, mean lesion size decreased from 0.8 ± 0.2 mm to 0.3 ± 0.1 mm (p < 0.01), and cure at 150 mg/kg against intracellular amastigotes in albino mice was 97.02 % (95 % CI = 96.14 - 98.10). IC50 for Lawsonia inermis leaf extract was 12.22 μg/mL (95 % CI = 11.54 - 13.84) against lymphocytes.Conclusion: The results obtained in this study show that Lawsonia Inermis leaf is safe and possesses potent anti-leishmanial activity.Keywords: Leishmania tropica, Lawsonia inermis, Morus Nigra, Ziziphus Mauritiana, Anti-leishmania, Amastigotes, Lymphocyte

Better Physical Activity Classification using Smartphone Acceleration Sensor

Obesity is becoming one of the serious problems for the health of worldwide population. Social interactions on mobile phones and computers via internet through social e-networks are one of the major causes of lack of physical activities. For the health specialist, it is important to track the record of physical activities of the obese or overweight patients to supervise weight loss control. In this study, acceleration sensor present in the smartphone is used to monitor the physical activity of the user. Physical activities including Walking, Jogging, Sitting, Standing, Walking upstairs and Walking downstairs are classified. Time domain features are extracted from the acceleration data recorded by smartphone during different physical activities. Time and space complexity of the whole framework is done by optimal feature subset selection and pruning of instances. Classification results of six physical activities are reported in this paper. Using simple time domain features, 99 % classification accuracy is achieved. Furthermore, attributes subset selection is used to remove the redundant features and to minimize the time complexity of the algorithm. A subset of 30 features produced more than 98 % classification accuracy for the six physical activities

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in white matter disease of brain

Demyelinating and dysmyelinating white matter diseases are important components of neurological problems. Recently, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has played a key role in diagnoses of white matter diseases. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to evaluate the usefulness of MRI in determining the type and frequency of white matter disease. We studied 35 patients who visited the Radiology Department of the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) for MRI with suspected demyelinating/dysmyelinating disorder from January 2003 to December 2005. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) (17; 48%) and leukodystrophies (10; 29%) were the most common diseases. The MRI helped identify the sites and types of the lesion precisely and thereby helped made clearer. distinction between various types of white matter diseases. The current study demonstrated the effective use of the imaging and clinical presentation for arriving at the correct diagnosis

The Effect of Car Ijarah / Lease Financing on the Pakistani Islamic Banking Sector's Performance

Purpose: This study aims to identify the effect of car ijarah / lease financing on the Pakistani Islamic banking sector's performance. It is one of the primary enhancements offered by Islamic financial institutions. Research Gap: Lack of studies that focus on how Car Ijarah / Lease financing affects Islamic banks is a research gap in this field. Design/Methodology/Approach: In the study, six independent variables were used: return on equity (ROE), net profit margin (NIM), Log of total financing (LTF), Ijarah real financing (IJRF), cost of total financing (CTF), total financing over total resources (TFTR), base percentage (BP), customer value index (CVI) and gross domestic product (GDP). Moreover, study analyzes the effect of Ijarah financing on Islamic bank performance in Pakistan from (2018-2022) using Variable and Arbitrary Effect Models Analysis (AFMA). The Main Findings: The study shows that Islamic banks are more profitable, liquid, better capitalized, and have lower credit risk than conventional banks. However, operational efficiency and ROE are negatively linked, while Ijarah's finance and cost total financing have a positive impact on NIM and GDP. Theoretical/Practical Implications of the Findings: Ijarah facilitates ROE development, making it attractive for banks, especially for development contributions. As a result, Ijarah financing is supportive of racial and religious growth. Thus, Islamic bank profitability and sustainable growth can be enhanced by Ijarah financing. Originality/Value: This paper presents an original study of the Islamic banking system's performance based on the study of Car Ijarah / Lease finance in Pakistan

Impact of Global Financial Crisis 2008 on Automobile Industry

Global financial crisis has formedbad impact on automobile industry in USA, like Suziki, Hyundai and Honda from 2008-2010. The companies’ sale decreased because of marketsituation and slum in world economy. Now economic conditions are getting better by having good financialpolicies andmarket exposure. This research study will explain the importance of debt to equity ratio in term of risk exposure being taken by the firm in market to finance the business and also analyze the importance and effectiveness of debt to equity for automobile sector. This study is based upon the three major players of industry to signify the risk exposure in term of debt and equity during a period of financial crisis and then how they manage it while looking at international financial regulations accordingly. Suzuki overcame this situation by keeping focusonR & D, marketing and manufacturing units. It has also changed its exposure of debt to equity, in the meantimeof financial crisisit is having more financing through common stock. Hyundai overcame this situation by focusing on stakeholders like customers and employees. And due to this strategy the crisis has created the low effects on the Hyundai profitability and sales.  The Honda after the recession they began to again paying keen attention on its performance and increased its sales by introducing the innovation in its different models by launching the hybrid fuel efficient models. And it also keeps on focusing common stock rather than lending from risky source. It also explained the role of Federal Reserve Bank to control financial crisis all over the world. In the end this paper will compare the market exposure of debt and equity of three companies and suggest some recommendations to be more secure in future if same crisis revert again. Keywords: Financial Crisis, Automobile Sector, Debt-to-Equity Ratio, Federal Reserve Bank

Impact of Global Financial Crisis 2008 on Automobile Industry

Global financial crisis has formed bad impact on automobile industry in USA, like Suziki, Hyundai and Honda from 2008-2010. The companies’ sale decreased because of market situation and slum in world economy. Now economic conditions are getting better by having good financial policies and market exposure. This research study will explain the importance of debt to equity ratio in term of risk exposure being taken by the firm in market to finance the business and also analyze the importance and effectiveness of debt to equity for automobile sector. This study is based upon the three major players of industry to signify the risk exposure in term of debt and equity during a period of financial crisis and then how they manage it while looking at international financial regulations accordingly. Suzuki overcame this situation by keeping focus on R & D, marketing and manufacturing units. It has also changed its exposure of debt to equity, in the meantime of financial crisis it is having more financing through common stock. Hyundai overcame this situation by focusing on stakeholders like customers and employees. And due to this strategy the crisis has created the low effects on the Hyundai profitability and sales.  The Honda after the recession they began to again paying keen attention on its performance and increased its sales by introducing the innovation in its different models by launching the hybrid fuel efficient models. And it also keeps on focusing common stock rather than lending from risky source. It also explained the role of Federal Reserve Bank to control financial crisis all over the world. In the end this paper will compare the market exposure of debt and equity of three companies and suggest some recommendations to be more secure in future if same crisis revert again. Keywords: Financial Crisis, Automobile Sector, Debt-to-Equity Ratio, Federal Reserve Bank. Paper Type: Research Pape

Synthesis of N-substituted acetamide derivatives of azinane-bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazole nucleus and screening for antibacterial activity

Purpose: To synthesize some acetamide derivatives bearing azinane and 1,3,4-oxadiazole heterocyclic cores and to evaluate their antibacterial potentials.Methods: Ethyl piperidin-4-carboxylate (2) was converted to ethyl 1-[(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]piperidin- 4-carboxylate (3), 1-[(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]piperidin-4-carbohydrazide (4) and 5-[1-(4-chlorophenylsulfonyl)-4-piperidinyl]-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-thiol (5) using three consecutive steps. The target molecules, 5-{1-[(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]piperidin-4-yl}-2-{[N-(substituted)-2-acetamoyl]thio]}-1,3,4- oxadiazole (8a-n) were synthesized by stirring 5 and N-aryl-2-bromoacetamides (7a-n) in an aprotic polar solvent. The structures were corroborated by infrared (IR), electron impact mass spectrometry (EIMS) and proton/carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (1H/13C-NMR) spectroscopic techniques. The evaluation of antibacterial activity was based on the effect on the increase in absorbance of the broth medium due to log phase microbial growth.Results: Compound 8g bearing a 2-methylphenyl group was the most the active growth inhibitor of Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis bacterial strains with minimum  inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 10.63±0.97, 10.31±1.00, 10.45 ± 0.94 and 11.77±5.00 μM, respectively. Ciprofloxacin was used as reference standard.Conclusion: All the synthesized compounds are moderate inhibitors but relatively more active against Gram-negative bacterial strains. 5-{1-[(4- Chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]piperidin-4-yl}-2-{[N-(2-methylphenyl)-2- acetamoyl]thio]}-1,3,4-oxadiazole (8g) is the most active growth inhibitor of all the strains except Staphylococcus aureus.Keywords: 1,3,4-Oxadiazole, Acetamides, Antibacterial activity, Piperidin

Reliability Analysis of a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

Wind is one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of energy. However, large and frequent fluctuations in wind intensity and directions cause serious problems in harvesting this energy. Wind turbines are subjected to many limiting conditions, which lead to their failure or degraded performance. Therefore, reliability is a very important parameter that governs the overall performance of wind energy system. This paper describes a methodology for the reliability and availability analysis of a horizontal axis wind turbine. The discussed methodology is used to conduct reliability and availability analysis of AOC15/50 wind turbine, which is widely used in Atlantic Canada and USA. The methodology comprises of four steps. First step involves assessment of failure modes using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) approach. Subsequently interrelationship among different components is deduced and represented using event tree analysis technique. Later based on operational characteristics, environmental condition (load), and failure characteristics reliability of each individual component is computed. Finally, Knowing the interrelationship and reliability of each components, reliability of complete system is assessed using fault tree analysis. Having maintainability characteristics known this procedure is repeated to calculate availability. Paper also includes discussion on 3 state Markov analyses for wind turbine system. It helps modeling degrading and total failure scenarios leading to better estimation of overall availability of the system round the year or during lifetime of system

Reliability and condition monitoring of a wind turbine

Wind is one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of energy. However, large and frequent fluctuations in wind intensity and directions can cause serious problems in harvesting this energy. Wind turbines are subjected to many unexpected environmental loads, which can be catastrophic in nature for the wind turbine system. Like any other industrial equipment wind turbines also require some type of monitoring system which is able to predict the up coming faults of the most sensitive components of the system to save it from a major disaster. This paper highlights the ongoing research on reliability analysis and condition monitoring system required for a small-scale wind turbine system AOC15/50, which is widely used in Atlantic Canada and USA. The paper describes the importance of safety system and lay ground work for sensor specification, sensor mounting and configuration requirements for magnetic tip brake and yaw bearing which were proved to be the least reliable components in an extensive reliability analysis. The paper describes condition monitoring instrumentation, data acquisition system and data analysis methodology