Some properties of meromorphic alpha-convex functions and its applications

The aim of the present paper is to obtain sufficient condition for the class of meromorphic alpha convex functions of order ζ and then to study mapping properties of an integral operator. Many known results apear as special consequences ofour wor

Practices in Library Staff Development: A case study of Pakistan Academy for Rural Development (PARD) Library

This study has been conducted to judge and document the initiatives taken for staff development at the library of Pakistan Academy for Rural Development (PARD) to enhance the performance of its employees for effective service delivery. This study also documents the visible change in professional improvement of library staff before and after such initiatives. The paper describes each initiative with explanation and practically applied examples showing its output and results. This is an observational study where the data was collected through personal interviews, table-talks with employees, and annual Performance Evaluation Reports (PERs)of the subjects. Current and retrospective staff of PARD library have participated in this study and provided their candid feedback. The library job, unlike other jobs, is isolated and is limited to perform one-type of job description. Therefore, the library staff are not openly exposed to avail staff development opportunities. The study concludes that techniques (discussed in this paper and practically executed) are useful to develop competencies of library staff in order to be more fruitful. Annual Performance Evaluation Reports, individual interview results, and users’ feedback on overall library performance is evident to shows that staffs, have benefited both personally and professionally from such activities. Staff development activities taken at PARD library has not only developed the skills at individual level but also contributed to achieve the organizational goals. This paper presents original viewpoint by the authors based on the observation, interviews and examining the performance evaluation report of the subject population. A kind of first ever study conducted on development of library staff in Pakistan

Convalescent Plasma Therapy in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Patients: A Brief Review

The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has reevaluated effectiveness of the convalescent plasma therapy (CPT). This review was carried out to assess the usefulness of CPT in critically COVID-19 patients, based on the published data to date. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second review of the usefulness of CPT in COVID-19 patients. PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline and EMBASE databases were searched for the relevant reports up to June 21, 2020. All the records of the published data were analyzed according to eligibility criteria protocols. Five different studies on CPT for COVID-19 critically ill patients were included in this review. The significant findings from the records are: (a) the CPT may help to reduce mortality in the seriously ill patients (b) administration of CPT increased antibodies titer and reduced the level of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA beyond detection limit (c) transfusion of convalescent plasma (CP) subsided clinical symptoms. Based on the currently available data, the CPT in the COVID-19 patients seems effective, safe and reduces mortality. There is urgent need of performing well-designed, multicenter clinical trials for establishing efficacy of the CPT in COVID-19 patients

Investigating smart home security : is blockchain the answer?

Smart Home automation is increasingly gaining popularity among current applications of Internet of Things (IoT) due to the convenience and facilities it provides to the home owners. Sensors are employed within the home appliances via wireless connectivity to be accessible remotely by home owners to operate these devices. With the exponential increase of smart home IoT devices in the marketplace such as door locks, light bulbs, power switches etc, numerous security concerns are arising due to limited storage and processing power of such devices, making these devices vulnerable to several attacks. Due to this reason, security implementations in the deployment of these devices has gained popularity among researchers as a critical research area. Moreover, the adoption of traditional security schemes has failed to address the unique security concerns associated with these devices. Blockchain, a decentralised database based on cryptographic techniques, is gaining enormous attention to assure security of IoT systems. The blockchain framework within an IoT system is a fascinating substitute to the traditional centralised models, which has some significant concerns in fulfilling the demand of smart homes security. In this article, we aim to examine the security of smart homes by instigating the adoption of blockchain and exploring some of the currently proposed smart home architectures using blockchain technology. To present our findings, we describe a simple secure smart home framework based on a refined version of blockchain called Consortium blockchain. We highlight the limitations and opportunities of adopting such an architecture. We further evaluate our model and conclude with the results by designing an experimental testbed using a few household IoT devices commonly available in the marketplace. © 2013 IEEE

Irrigation Water Quality Assessment and Salinity Management Strategies in Bahawalpur Division, Pakistan

Economy of Pakistan is agricultural based and it mainly dependent on canal supplies. Due to rapid population growth, there has been a dramatic increase in the intensity of ground water exploitation leading to decline water table and deteriorate ground water quality. Tube well water is one of the most common resources to support the irrigation in situation of canal water scarcity. Considering the importance of tube well water, present study was conducted for the quality assessment of tube well water to provide guidelines to farmer and researches for better crop production by adopting water management strategies. Total 1400 water samples were collected from Bahawalpur division during the year 2017. These samples were analyzed and categorized according to suitability criteria of water quality evaluation. 38.64 percent water samples were found fit, 7.65 percent were marginally fit and 53.7 percent water samples were found unfit for irrigation purpose. Majority of water samples were found hazardous for irrigation purpose. There is need to analyze the existing water resources and recommending comprehensive conservation and management strategies in view of catering the planning requirements for the future. Keywords: Salinity, Sodicity, Ground water, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Detection of beet necrotic yellow vein virus in Pakistan using bait-plant bioassay, ELISA and RT-PCR

The Northwestern plains of Pakistan are the major sugar beet producing region in the country, providing an important alternative to sugar cane for sugar production when sugar cane is absent in the fields. We surveyed this region for four consecutive years and found that Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) is prevalent in at least five of these districts (Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan and Swabi). An increase in virus incidence was observed in 2012 as compared to previous years (2009 to 2011) in all the sugar beet growing districts surveyed. The identity of the virus was confirmed using bait bioassay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) and infectivity assay in roots and leaves of bait plants and sugar beet commercial cultivars. The results indicate that the virus was detected in at least 17 (out of 20) locations and all the four sugar beet cultivars commercially grown in the region were found susceptible to the virus. Our results indicate that bait plant bioassay, ELISA, RT-PCR and infectivity assay can efficiently detect BNYVV in roots and leaves of baited plants, field samples and sugar beet cultivars commercially grown in the region. This is the first report of BNYVV in Pakistan using both conventional and molecular techniques.Keywords: Detection, BNYVV, plant bioassay, ELISA, RT-PCR, sugar beet, Pakista