Investigating Content and Language Integration in an EFL Textbook: A Corpus-Based Study

This research evaluates an English language textbook from CLIL perspective. For this purpose, an intermediate level (grade-11) English language textbook has been selected and analyzed utilizing Coyle’s conceptual framework of 4Cs (i.e. content, cognition, communication and culture).Content, communication, and culture have been explored through a checklist, whereas cognition has been explored by developing a corpus from the questions given in the exercises of the textbook and analyzing in the light of Bloom’s taxonomy. The results reveal certain breeches between CLIL features and the textbook’s contents. Layout, learning outcomes, organization of the content, subject matter, authenticity of the text, exercises, and focus on language skills does not seem to match with CLIL perspectives. Listening and speaking skills are observed to be ignored. Moreover, the exercises do not seem to foster critical thinking and interaction between students and teachers. Most of the questions are observed covering only first two levels (i.e. knowledge and comprehension) of Bloom’s taxonomy. The study concludes that CLIL principles are not integrated in the textbook. Therefore, the textbook is not suitable to an ESL/EFL setting

Investigating the role of conglutinin in hostpathogen interactions in bovine tuberculosis

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonBovine tuberculosis is an infectious disease mainly in livestock caused by Mycobacterium bovis and has had substantial economic impacts in the UK and worldwide. Innate immunity against bovine tuberculosis in not fully understood, and some of the first host molecules to be involved are in innate immunity are collectins, which are soluble C-type lectins that play an important role in the targeting and clearance of microbes. Conglutinin is an important collectin, which is synthesized in the liver and is present in the serum and can be produced locally by neutrophil, dendritic and macrophage cells. Conglutinin is a unique collectin found in cattle and other grazing animals. Its biological role is not fully understood. It is therefore interesting to study conglutinin’s role in the bovine infection and immunity. In this study, the aim was to investigate the role of conglutinin in bovine tuberculosis, by examining its influence in host-pathogen interactions between mycobacteria and macrophages. A recombinant fragment of conglutinin (rfBC) composed of α-helical neck region and the C-terminal CRD region was successfully expressed in E. coli, purified and characterised. It was observed that rfBC binds to mycobacteria (M. bovis BCG and M. smegmatis) in the presence of Ca2+ in a dose-dependent manner. A direct bacteriostatic effect for conglutinin was also observed inhibiting mycobacterial growth in vitro. This is the first time a bacteriostatic effect for conglutinin has been observed against Gram-positive bacteria. It was also found that rfBC bound on the surface of mycobacteria (M. bovis BCG and M. smegmatis) also inhibited their phagocytosis by THP-1 macrophages cells. In this study we also observed that conglutinin led to dampening of cytokines and chemokines response in the THP-1 cells infected by M. bovis BCG and complement coated M. bovis BCG as compared to untreated M. bovis BCG. In vivo, macrophages phagocytose mycobacteria after entry in to the host but ultimately fail to destroy them and provide hostile environment for multiplication. Conglutinin inhibition of phagocytosis of these bacteria in to macrophages and dampening of pro-inflammatory response may be protective by keeping them extracellular where these can be easily eliminated by the host immune response

Dielectric Resonator Antenna and Array Concepts based on Glass, Ceramics and Glass-ceramics

The focus of this work has been the exploration of different concepts of the dielectric resonator antennas. Mainly, a new kind of glass-ceramic material was characterized and used for making different dielectric loaded or dielectric resonator antennas and corresponding arrays based on such radiating elements. The measurements were carried out on different glass-ceramic compositions and showed a permittivity ranging from 21 to 38 with Qf product in the range from 1500 to 10000 GHz. Patch antennas for the GPS band using glass-ceramic loading were successfully fabricated and tested. The transparent property of the non-ceramized glass was used for making transparent antennas in combination with a solar-cell module for future energy-autonomous units. Its functionality was demonstrated with a measured gain of 4 dB. Another novel concept of tilted beam dielectric resonator antenna was also successfully tested. The beam was measured to be tilted at 30◦ from the broadside. The prototype was manufactured by using commonly available alumina substrate material and cutting it with laser, thus providing an easy fabrication method. The tilted dielectric resonator antenna element has also been used to fabricate fixed beam arrays at 0◦, 30◦ and 60◦ beams. This proved the concept of using the tilted beam dielectric resonator antennas for better lower elevation angle coverage. Another major part of the work was concerned with realizing the phased arrays with dielectric resonator antennas as radiating elements. Two phased array demonstrators were fabricated in 1 × 4 configuration. One of the array consisted of liquid crystal based delay lines in inverted microstrip technology. It was fabricated with 10 GHz target frequency and successfully showed steering of the beams in −25◦ and +25◦. The second array was based on Barium Strontium Titanate phase shifters in the metal-insulator-metal configuration. This array used stacked dielectric resonator antennas for a wide bandwidth at center frequency of 8 GHz and showed beam steering of −30◦ and +30◦

The economic cost of terrorism and natural disasters: A deeper analysis of the financial market markets of Pakistan

Do natural disasters and terrorism affect the financial markets of Pakistan? We aimed to answer this question by studying a large dataset of stock returns of financial markets of Pakistan with respect to natural disasters and terrorist activities. The dataset consists of a total of 289 terrorist events and 45 natural disasters; taken from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and Emergency Database (EM-DAT), covering events from the year 2003 to 2017. The event study methodology used to analyze daily, weekly and monthly stock returns of concerned sectors. Calculated the Abnormal returns with the help of market adjusted return model. The findings show that terrorist events have a statistically significant negative impact on the banking sector returns as well as insurance sector returns. Furthermore, the impact on the Pakistan Stock Market is insignificant. The impact of natural disasters on stock markets was not significant however when studied separately the floods have a negative significant impact on bank returns while insignificant for insurance and stock market returns. On the other hand, earthquakes are negatively affecting the stock market but no impact has been reported significant neither for insurance nor for banks returns

The economic cost of terrorism and natural disasters: A deeper analysis of the financial market markets of Pakistan

Do natural disasters and terrorism affect the financial markets of Pakistan? We aimed to answer this question by studying a large dataset of stock returns of financial markets of Pakistan with respect to natural disasters and terrorist activities. The dataset consists of a total of 289 terrorist events and 45 natural disasters; taken from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and Emergency Database (EM-DAT), covering events from the year 2003 to 2017. The event study methodology used to analyze daily, weekly and monthly stock returns of concerned sectors. Calculated the Abnormal returns with the help of market adjusted return model. The findings show that terrorist events have a statistically significant negative impact on the banking sector returns as well as insurance sector returns. Furthermore, the impact on the Pakistan Stock Market is insignificant. The impact of natural disasters on stock markets was not significant however when studied separately the floods have a negative significant impact on bank returns while insignificant for insurance and stock market returns. On the other hand, earthquakes are negatively affecting the stock market but no impact has been reported significant neither for insurance nor for banks returns

Advanced energy management system with the incorporation of novel security features

Nowadays, energy management is a subject of great importance and complexity. Pakistan, being in a state of developing country, generates electrical power mainly by using non-renewable sources of energy. Non-renewable entities are fossil fuels such as furnace oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. Pakistan has been facing a severe shortage of production in energy sector for last two decades. This shortfall is affecting the industrial development as well as economic growth. With the growing population, the load demand is rapidly increasing and there must be a need to expand the existing ones or to build new power systems. In this paper, an autonomous management system has been proposed to enhance quality, reliability and confidence of utilization of energy between end consumers and suppliers. Such objectives can only be fulfilled by making the power supply secure for end consumers. Distributed and centralized control systems are involved for maintaining a balance between renewable energy resources and base power, so that end consumers demand can be fulfilled when required. A reliable Two-way communication system between suppliers and end consumers has been proposed by using Message Digest algorithm which ensures that there would be no energy theft. Simulations have been done in MATLAB/ Simulink environment and results have been presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed model

THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON WORK MEANINGFULNESS AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN CORPORATE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN: THE MODERATING ROLE OF MORAL IDENTITY

In prior literature, factors influencing employee engagement have been studied solely from HR practices perspective. This study aims to analyse the impact of Employees’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) perceptions and explores intervening mechanisms through which CSR perceptions may impact employee engagement. Thus, we have attempted to study the impact of CSR on work meaningfulness as intervening variable along with moderating role of moral identity on employee engagement in Pakistani organizations. It is a qualitative cross-sectional study. Data was collected from 275 employees in Pakistani organizations using structured instrument questionnaire. SPSS and Smart PLS software were used for the purpose of data analysis. The findings demonstrated that CSR practices had a direct positive impact on employee engagement. Moreover, work meaningfulness showed a partial mediation between employee CSR perceptions and employee engagement. Moral identity also showed a moderating influence as hypothesized. Moral identity strengthened the relationship between CSR and work meaningfulness. It also demonstrated moderating role in relationship between work meaningfulness and employee engagement. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Work Meaningfulness; Employee Engagement; Moral Identit

Neural network and URED observer based fast terminal integral sliding mode control for energy efficient polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell used in vehicular technologies

In this research work, a Neural Network (NN) and Uniform Robust Exact Differentiator (URED) observer-based Fast Terminal Integral Sliding Mode Control (FTISMC) has been proposed for Oxygen Excess Ratio (OER) regulation of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) power systems for vehicular applications. The controller uses URED as an observer for supply manifold pressure estimation. NN is used to estimate the stack temperature which is unavailable. The suggested control method increased the PEMFC's effectiveness and durability while demonstrating the finite-time convergence of system trajectories. By controlling the air-delivery system in the presence of uncertain current requirements and measurement noise, the approach ensures maximum power efficiency. The Lyapunov stability theorem has been used to confirm the stability of the presented algorithm. In addition, the suggested method eliminated the chattering phenomenon and improved power efficiency. Given these noteworthy characteristics, the research has the potential to decrease sensor dependence and production costs while also improving the transient and steady-state response in vehicular applications

Performance improvement in polymer electrolytic membrane fuel cell based on nonlinear control strategies—A comprehensive study

A Polymer Electrolytic Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is an efficient power device for automobiles, but its efficiency and life span depend upon its air delivery system. To ensure improved performance of PEMFC, the air delivery system must ensure proper regulation of Oxygen Excess Ratio (OER). This paper proposes two nonlinear control strategies, namely Integral Sliding Mode Control (ISMC) and Fast Terminal ISMC (FTISMC). Both the controllers are designed to control the OER at a constant level under load disturbances while avoiding oxygen starvation. The derived controllers are implemented in MATLAB/ Simulink. The corresponding simulation results depict that FTISMC has faster tracking performance and lesser fluctuations due to load disturbances in output net power, stack voltage/power, error tracking, OER, and compressor motor voltage. Lesser fluctuations in these parameters ensure increased efficiency and thus extended life of a PEMFC. The results are also compared with super twisting algorithm STA to show the effectiveness of the proposed techniques. ISMC and FTISMC yield 7% and 20% improved performance as compared to STA. The proposed research finds potential applications in hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles

Exploring synchronization and lift suppression in fluid flow around vibrating cylinder: a parallel CFD and global optimization investigation

In this study, we employ a parallel Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code integrated with the VTDIRECT95 algorithm, a parallel deterministic global optimization method, to conduct global optimization for an oscillating circular cylinder. We conduct numerical simulations for the flow at a Reynolds number of 500 within the parameter range of 0.1≤Ax≤0.3 and 0.5fst≤fex≤2.5fst where Ax represents the inline oscillating amplitude, fex denotes the forcing oscillation frequency, and fst corresponds to the frequency of a stationary cylinder. To enhance computational efficiency, a combination of VTdirect and a CFD solver is utilized to efficiently identify the synchronization region, thereby reducing computational resources. The results reveal a significant reduction in the lift coefficient within the synchronized region compared to unsynchronized regimes. Furthermore, the study delves into the underlying flow physics behind synchronization and lift suppression. By synchronizing the shedding of vortices, their detrimental effects are nullified, resulting in a reduction in lift. Moreover, the research examines the influence of three-dimensional (3-D) flow by comparing 2-D and 3-D simulations at two different Reynolds numbers. It demonstrates that accounting for 3-D effects yields more accurate predictions of fluid behavior. Synchronization maps and root mean square (rms) lift coefficient plots illustrate the impact of Reynolds number and movement frequency on lift suppression. The findings indicate that achieving synchronization in 3-D flow necessitates stronger amplitudes and higher frequencies. At higher Reynolds numbers, the wake structures become unstable, leading to intricate vortical patterns. Consequently, the synchronization curve shifts towards higher amplitudes and frequencies in 3-D simulations. Understanding these phenomena is vital for reducing lift force in practical applications. This research significantly contributes to knowledge regarding synchronization and lift suppression in fluid flow around vibrating cylinders.publishedVersio