Khwaja Sira: Culture, Identity Politics, and Transgender Activism in Pakistan

In 2009, the Pakistani Supreme Court began granting rights to gender ambiguous people who are locally known as khwaja siras. The Court organized this population into taxonomic groups and ordered the government to `mainstream\u27 them. These actions were based on certain cultural assumptions and occurred amid uncertainties about who khwaja siras really were. Meanwhile, khwaja siras began to mobilize in an effort to control their public image. Based on fourteen months of ethnographic fieldwork on the identity politics of khwaja siras in Karachi, this dissertation seeks to understand the ways in which gender ambiguous people constructed, negotiated and represented themselves both within their social networks and in the wider society, as well as the factors underpinning their public portrayals. I conceive khwaja sira politics as a `game\u27, that is, as the art of manipulation and concealment. I argue that the games of secrecy and deception in which this minority population engaged were responses to the stigma they experienced in everyday life. Khwaja sira relationships with the general public were strategic game-like interactions that were meant to conceal knowledge, misrepresent gender variant people, and confuse opponents. They allowed khwaja siras to maintain ambiguity about their corporeality, conceal their sexualized lifestyle, and seek inclusion into mainstream society. These everyday forms of agency and deceit emerged on a larger scale and in far more sophisticated ways in the realm of activism. However, social stigma was so pervasive that it permeated into the khwaja sira cultural system, impacting the self-esteem of its members and triggering identity wars between them. These fissures were replicated within activist spaces where they often stifled efforts to empower khwaja siras. The games of secrecy and deception that gender variant people played both facilitated and undermined their movement. These empowering and conscious acts of self preservation enhanced their security within an oppressive social environment. However, khwaja sira politics did not promote understanding of gender and sexual difference. These provisional solutions perpetuated ambiguity about khwaja siras, temporarily grazing the surface of their struggles without promoting long-term stigma reduction

Free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates based on higher order shear deformation theory by using finite element method

The present work deals with free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates using a present higher order displacement model. The present model is tested on the evaluation of free vibration of laminated composite plates in order to illustrate the deficiency of the classical plate theory and the first order shear deformation theory. The present work is also aimed at conducting a parametric study to investigate the frequency response of laminated composite plates for different material properties, number of layers, fiber orientations, boundary conditions and side to thickness ratios. A finite element computer code was developed and implemented to carry out the work

Investigation of aircraft engine performance utilizing various alternative fuels

The airlines are subjected to the energy crisis and have raised environmental issues at the same time. Future engine technology advances could decrease the effect on the environment and energy consumption. Alternative fuelspotentially assist in the reduction of engine emissions and hence lower the energy-related issues. This study presents analysis of the efficiency of aircraft engines as a function of thrust force, flow of the and specific fuel consumption (SFC) at distinct mixing ratios (40% and 100%) of African natural gas, Algae, Camelina, Jatropa, Diesel, Hydrogen, Synthetic paraffinic kerosene, UK natural gas at cruising altitude. In – house Cranfield University simulation codes, PYTHIA & TURBOMATCH have been used to investigate and model a three-shaft high bypass engine analogous to RB211 - 524. The engine model has been certified and authenticated in commercial aircraft with open works found in the Bio - Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene test program.Blended fuel of Kerosene & hydrogen (KE+HY) fuels gives values of 331.6 KN,1.2577KG/S, and 6.9512 kg/kwh for net thrust force,the flow of fuel and specific fuel feastingat mingling ratio of 40 % respectively. However, at mixing ratio of 100% Blended fuel of Kerosene & hydrogen (KE+HY) fuels gives values of 339.01 KN, 0.800KG/S, and 4.333 kg/kwh for net thrust, fuel flow, and specific fuel consumption respectively. It is found that blended fuel of Kerosene &hydrogen (KE+HY) fuels give better engine performances as compared to other alternative fuels. However, Kerosene &diesel (KE+DI) fuels have shown a slight reduction in engine performance

Addressing opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hypersensitivity: Recent developments and future therapeutic strategies.

Opioids are a commonly prescribed and efficacious medication for the treatment of chronic pain but major side effects such as addiction, respiratory depression, analgesic tolerance, and paradoxical pain hypersensitivity make them inadequate and unsafe for patients requiring long-term pain management. This review summarizes recent advances in our understanding of the outcomes of chronic opioid administration to lay the foundation for the development of novel pharmacological strategies that attenuate opioid tolerance and hypersensitivity; the two main physiological mechanisms underlying the inadequacies of current therapeutic strategies. We also explore mechanistic similarities between the development of neuropathic pain states, opioid tolerance, and hypersensitivity which may explain opioids' lack of efficacy in certain patients. The findings challenge the current direction of analgesic research in developing non-opioid alternatives and we suggest that improving opioids, rather than replacing them, will be a fruitful avenue for future research

Addressing opioid tolerance and opioid-induced hypersensitivity: Recent developments and future therapeutic strategies.

Opioids are a commonly prescribed and efficacious medication for the treatment of chronic pain but major side effects such as addiction, respiratory depression, analgesic tolerance, and paradoxical pain hypersensitivity make them inadequate and unsafe for patients requiring long-term pain management. This review summarizes recent advances in our understanding of the outcomes of chronic opioid administration to lay the foundation for the development of novel pharmacological strategies that attenuate opioid tolerance and hypersensitivity; the two main physiological mechanisms underlying the inadequacies of current therapeutic strategies. We also explore mechanistic similarities between the development of neuropathic pain states, opioid tolerance, and hypersensitivity which may explain opioids' lack of efficacy in certain patients. The findings challenge the current direction of analgesic research in developing non-opioid alternatives and we suggest that improving opioids, rather than replacing them, will be a fruitful avenue for future research

Modelling of scanning pulsed eddy current testing of normal and slanted surface cracks

Thanks to its wide bandwidth, pulsed eddy current (PEC) has attracted researchers of various backgrounds in the attempt to exploit its benefits in Non-destructive Testing (NDT). The ability of modelling PEC problems would be a precious tool in this attempt as it would help improve the understanding of the interaction between the transient magnetic field and the specimen, among others. In this work, a Finite Element Modelling (FEM) has been developed and experimental test data have been gathered for its validation. The investigated cases were simulated surface cracks of different sizes and angles. The study involved looking at time-domain PEC signals at different spatial distances from the cracks’ faces, which would particularly be useful for modelling scanning PEC probes. The obtained results show a good agreement between the FEM and experiment, demonstrating that the modelling technique can be used with confidence for solving similar problems. In addition, the extracted features from signals were also studied to discover the influence of crack geometries to the PEC responses

Control of suddenly expanded flows from correctly expanded and under expanded nozzles at supersonic mach number for area ratio 2.56

Airflow from convergent-divergent axisymmetric nozzles expanded into circular duct of higher area were studied experimentally, with the main focus on the flow development in the duct. The flow parameters considered in this investigation are the Mach number at the nozzle exit and the level of expansion. The geometrical parameters considered are the area ratio and the L/D ratio of the duct. To control on the flow field developed in the duct, four tiny jets of 0.5 mm radius located at 90 degrees intervals at 6.5 mm radius from the centre of the nozzle exit were employed as the flow regulators. The Mach number in this case was 1.48. The area ratio of the study was 2.56. The nozzle pressure ratio (NPR) used was from 3.27 and 5.35 respectively which corresponds to ideally expanded and under expanded cases. The L/D ratio of the enlarged duct was varied from 10 to 1. From the results it is found that there is a jump in the wall pressure when flow passes through first oblique shock and this trend is repeated for all the cases.From the results it is found that the entire flow field is full of waves and flow remains identical with and without control when the jets were operated under favourable and adverse pressure gradient, it is also observed that when flow regulators in the form of tiny jets are employed they do not disturb the flow of duct

Cardiac implantable electronic device lead extraction in patients with underlying infection using open thoracotomy or percutaneous techniques

Background: Explanting infected cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) and extracting their associated leads can be performed percutaneously (EP) or via open-thoracotomy (OR) approach. In this study, we examined the characteristics and outcomes of infected CIED patients undergoing EP vs. OR extraction procedures. Methods: All patients (EP: n = 329 and OR: n = 24) who received lead extraction in the presence of an infected CIED from 2005 to 2010 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were included in this study. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained from the electronic medical records. The Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was used to adjust for severity of co-morbid conditions. Results: Compared to the EP group, OR patients were more likely to have positive blood cultures, larger vegetations, and worse CCI scores. They also had higher total mortality rates at 1 (p = 0.036), 6 (p = 0.020), and 12 months (p = 0.012) after the procedure. One-year survival after lead extractions was significantly better for the EP compared to the OR group (p = 0.002) even after adjusting for other comorbid illnesses (HR = 2.6, p = 0.010) in a Cox regression model. Conclusions: Infected CIED patients undergoing open-chest lead extraction are sicker and have higher mortality rates compared to those undergoing percutaneous extraction. Randomized, prospective data are needed to determine whether the procedural strategy for lead extraction accounts in part for the difference in outcome.