Moral Anxiety in the 'Land of the Pure': Popular Justice and Anti-Blasphemy Violence in Pakistan

In recent years, Pakistan has witnessed incidents such as lynching of a student on a university campus, torching of a Christian couple alive, attacks on entire neighbourhoods by angry mobs, and assassination of a governor upon allegations of blasphemy. This thesis begins with the premise that the anti-blasphemy violence is meaningful political action and locates it within the wider socio-cultural and historical context of Pakistan. I argue in this thesis that blasphemy accusations and the violence that often follows them are an outcome of the wider concern for maintaining purity at the national, communal, and individual levels. The creation and the consolidation of the state of Pakistan has popularised certain ideas of national identity based on an imagined homogenous community defined by its purity. At the local level, the national identity is interpreted within specifically local cultural notions of sexual, ancestral, communal and religious purity. At an individual level, the concern for the purity of the self and the society has led to widespread moral and existential anxieties. It is within the context of these anxieties concerning the purity of the nation, the community, and the self that the blasphemy accusations gain traction. By focusing on the inter-personal relationships between the accused and the accusers, this thesis contends that the accusations are triggered by perceived transgressions of social hierarchies and religio-cultural notions of purity among people known to each other. Through ethnographic examples, I demonstrate that most accusations are simultaneously motivated by religio-cultural ideals, emotions, and personal rivalries. However, once the blasphemy accusations have been made, regardless of the initial motives of the accusers, they quickly escalate into a shared religious concern inciting passionate responses from a much wider audience of believers living with anxieties concerning their faith, their religio-national identity, and the purity of their society. To the mobilised crowds, the accused becomes a symbolic figure, 'the impure other' who threatens the national, communal, and individual purity. The violent punishment of 'the impure other' that follows is however not inevitable; rather it is orchestrated and enabled by various actors motivated by both reason and passion. Some of these actors are key proponents of ideas of popular justice. By promoting non-state punishments of alleged blasphemers, the agents of popular justice contest the state's sole authority over legitimate violence and its sovereignty in representing Islamic ideals. The thesis analyses blasphemy-related violence as political contestation through which the state's interpretation and implementation of justice is challenged by those competing with the state in the shared religio-political sphere. The state and non-state proponents of justice draw upon the same sources of legitimacy and sovereignty in claiming to represent Islamic principles of justice. Consequently, the assertions by proponents of non-state violence become enshrined in the state's foundations and its laws. This thesis thus reworks accepted analytical dichotomies of reason/emotion, culture/religion, traditional/Western, state/non-state and legal/extra-legal to extend our understanding of the upsurge of blasphemy related violence in Pakistan

Finding the Enemy Within

In the past decade, Pakistan has witnessed incidents such as the public lynching of a student on a university campus, a Christian couple being torched alive, attacks on entire neighbourhoods by angry mobs and the assassination of a provincial governor by his own security guard over allegations of blasphemy. Finding the Enemy Within unpacks the meanings and motivations behind accusations of blasphemy and subsequent violence in Pakistan. This is the first ethnographic study of its kind analysing the perspectives of a range of different actors including accusers, religious scholars and lawyers involved in blasphemy-related incidents in Pakistan. Bringing together anthropological perspectives on religion, violence and law, this book reworks prevalent analytical dichotomies of reason/emotion, culture/religion, traditional/Western, state/nonstate and legal/extralegal to extend our understanding of the upsurge of blasphemy-related violence in Pakistan. Through the case study of blasphemy accusations in Pakistan, this book addresses broader questions of difference, individual and collective identities, social and symbolic boundaries, and conflict and violence in modern nation-states

Derangement in Serum Inflammatory Biomarkers Among Patients with End Stage Renal Disease

Background: End stage renal disease is an important public health problem. Renal replacement therapy, dialysis and transplantation are used to provide relief from the symptoms of end stage renal disease whilst also preserving the life of the patients though they are not curative. Haemodialysis is the widely used method although it produces a negative impact on quality of life of the patients. Hypoalbumianemia has been reported to be frequently present in haemodialysis patients and correlates strongly with mortality and morbidity. Objective: To determine the frequency of deranged  inflammatory biomarkers in patients with end stage renal disease on hemodialysis, in Nishtar Hospital Multan. Material and methods: One hundred thirty-one cases with ESRD were selected from Hemodialysis Department, Nishtar Hospital Multan and  3ml of venous blood sample was taken before starting a session of hemodialysis and sent to central laboratory of Nishtar Hospital Multan. Serum Albumin was obtained by an automatic analyzer, and serum CRP by slide test, free of cost, to measure deranged inflammatory biomarkers. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Results: Of these 131 study cases, 85 (64.9%) were male patients while 46 (35.1%) were female patients. Mean age of our study cases was 42.37 ± 5.98 years. Of these 131 patients with ESRD on hemodialysis 33 (25.2%) were diabetic, 65 (49.6%) were hypertensives and 13 (9.9%) were obese. Mean duration on hemodialysis was 19.51 ± 7.59 months, 80 (61.1%) had to undergo hemodialysis twice a week and 51 (38.9%) had to undergo three times a week. Mean serum albumin level was noted to be 3.37 ± 0.59 g/dl. Mean serum C-reactive protein level was noted to be 20.73 ± 15.84 mg/l. Frequency of deranged inflammatory biomarkers in our study was noted to be in 109 (83.2%) of the study cases. Conclusion: Very high frequency of derangement in inflammatory biomarkers have been noted in our study. This derangement in these inflammatory biomarkers was significantly associated with female gender, increasing age, increased duration on hemodialysis and increased frequency of hemodialysis. The early diagnosis of these derangements followed by preventive measures can help decrease disease morbidity and mortality among targeted population. Keywords: Inflammatory biomarkers, deranged, end-stage renal disease, hemodialysis

Artificial intelligence–built analysis framework for the manufacturing sector: performance optimization of wire electric discharge machining system

In the era of industry 4.0, digitalization and smart operation of industrial systems contribute to higher productivity, improved quality, and efficient resource utilization for industrial operations and processes. However, artificial intelligence (AI)–based modelling and optimization analysis following a generic analysis framework is lacking in literature for the manufacturing sector thereby impeding the inclusion of AI for its potential application's domain. Herein, a comprehensive and generic analysis framework is presented depicting the key stages involved for carrying out the AI-based modelling and optimization analysis for the manufacturing system. The suggested AI framework is put into practice on wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) system, and the cutting speed of WEDM is adjusted for the stainless cladding steel material. Artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), and extreme learning machine (ELM) are three AI modelling techniques that are trained with meticulous hyperparameter tuning. A better-performing model is chosen once the trained AI models have undergone the external validation test to investigate their prediction performance. The sensitivity analysis on the developed AI model is performed and it is found that pulse on time (Pon) is the noteworthy factor affecting the cutting speed of WEDM having the percentage significance value of 26.6 followed by the Dw and LTSS, with the percentage significance value of 17.3 and 16.7 respectively. The parametric optimization incorporating the AI model is conducted and the results pertain to the cutting speed are 27.3% higher than the maximum value of cutting speed achieved for WEDM. The cutting speed performance optimization is realized following the proposed AI-based analysis framework that can be applied, in general, to other manufacturing systems therefore unlocking the potential of AI to contribute to industry 4.0 for the smart operation of manufacturing systems

Ischemic Stroke and Increased Homocysteine Level

Objective: The main aim of this study was to find the correlation between ischemic stroke and increased homocysteine levels.Type of Study: It is a cross sectional type of study.Place and Duration of study: This study was carried out in a duration of 15 months from February 2018 April 2019 in medical departments of Jinnah Hospital Lahore.Materials and Methods: A total of 100 patients were included in this study. The patients included in this study were between the ages of 40 to 80 years. Both genders were selected randomly. CT brain plain was obtained in all these patients and diagnosis of ischemic infarction was made of the basis of presence of hypo dense area. Blood samples were taken from all the patients and sent for homocysteine levels and the value of 15 µmol/L was labeled as high.Results: Out study included 100 patients with 40(40%) females and 60(60%) males. 52.34± 6.57 years was the mean age. 60% cases had increased homocysteine levels and frequency was much higher in female patients which was found to be affecting 24(63.15%) cases. The frequency was much higher in people with increased age ranging between 60 to 80 years where it was found to be 65.38%.Conclusion: One of the most fatal complications caused by increased homocysteine levels is ischemic stroke and the incidence is much higher in people with increased age ranging between 60 to 80 years

Sustainable EDM of Inconel 600 in Cu-mixed biodegradable dielectrics: Modelling and optimizing the process by artificial neural network for supporting net-zero from industry

The properties of Nickel-based superalloy(s) like stability at extreme conditions, greater strength, etc., complicate its cutting through conventional operations. Therefore, electric discharge machining (EDM) is preferred for its accurate cutting. However, the conventional dielectric i.e., kerosene used in EDM is hydrocarbon based which generates toxic fumes and contribute to the CO2 emissions during the discharging process in EDM. This affects the operator’s health and the environment. Therefore, the potentiality of five biodegradable dielectrics has been deeply examined herein to address the said issues. Nano copper powder is also employed for uplifting the cutting proficiency of these dielectrics. A set of 15 experiments was performed via full factorial design. An artificial neural network (ANN) is constructed to model and optimize the material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and specific energy consumption (SEC). The highest MRR (5.527 mm3 /min) was achieved in coconut oil whereas for obtaining the lowest SR, the sunflower oil at powder concentration (Cp) of 1.0 g/100 ml is the best choice. Sunflower oil also gave a 17.05% better surface finish compared to other dielectrics. Amongst the biodegradable dielectrics, olive oil consumes lowest specific energy (SEC) i.e., 264.16 J/mm3 which is 28.8% less than the SEC of other oils. Furthermore, the maximum CO2 reduction of 72.8 ± 1.4% is achieved with Olive oil in comparison to that found with kerosene in EDM. The multi-objective optimization is conducted and sunflower oil with Cp of 0.667 g/100 ml is termed out to be optimal solution. The biodegradable dielectrics have demonstrated excellent performance for EDM to support net-zero goals from the industrial sector

Socio-economic Status and Domestic Violence: A Study on Married Women in Urban Lahore, Pakistan

The present paper examined the association between women’s socio-economic status and their exposure to domestic violence in urban Lahore, Pakistan. The data was collected from married women through household survey of various socio-economic neighbourhoods of Lahore in 2012. The findings of the present study showed significant relationship between women’s socio-economic status and their exposure to domestic violence. Women’s age, educational attainment and economic dependence were associated with their exposure to domestic violence. The findings of the present study underscored the importance of women’s educational attainments and increased access to employment opportunities in lessening their vulnerability to domestic violenc

Morphometric analysis of soldier cast of Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) and Microtermes obesi (Holmgren) (Blattodea: Termitidae; Macrotermitinae) from three localities of Potohar region, Pakistan

A great diversity of termite species is found all over the world, among these 53 species are identified from Pakistan. The knowledge about morphological features in soldier cast of termites is proved to be a technical tool for taxonomy and identification. In the present studies, the morphometric variations of external morphology in soldier caste of Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) and Microtermes obesi (Holmgren) from three different areas i.e. Gujar Khan (A), Rawalpindi (B) and Islamabad (C) were studied. About 36 characters like body, thorax, abdomen, from head to mandible tip, head, pronotum, postmentum, mandible, antenna (scape, pedicle, flagellum), and legs parts were used for morphometric measurements. The data were statistically analyzed for significant differences in their mean, standard deviation, standard error, 95% confidence interval, coefficient of variability and analysis of variance. “Student t-test” was used for the comparison of mean values using Minitab version 16. The results of the present study revealed no significant differences among the population samples collected from various localities. However little variations were observed in a few characters like antennal segments (pedicle, scape) and legs (trochanter, tibia) among the soldier cast which are adaptive in nature to survive in the environment

Evaluation of Toxicity on Ctenopharyngodon idella Due to Tannery Effluent Remediated by Constructed Wetland Technology

Aquatic pollution caused by industrial effluents is an environmental issue, imposing deleterious impacts on the overall environment, specifically, on humans, by disrupting the balance of the ecosystem. Among all the industries, tanneries are considered some of the most polluting due to heavy use of toxic organic and inorganic compounds during leather processing, most of which find their way into rivers, lakes, and streams, thus exerting adverse effects on aquatic life, particularly on fish. Considering the huge concentrations of pollutants present in tannery effluents, toxicity evaluation is of prime importance. Therefore, bioassays are usually employed to assess the acute toxicity of industrial effluents and efficiency of effluent clean-up technologies as they provide a thorough response of test species to the substances present in the tested media. In the present study, the toxic effects of tannery effluent on common grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were studied for 96 h in laboratory conditions. The effluent was added at different concentrations, before and after treatment by constructed wetlands (CWs). During this period, mortality data was collected to calculate the 96 h-LC50 (lethal concentration inducing 50% mortality) and acute toxicity of C. idella. In addition to this, observations on change in morphological, physiological, and behavioural patterns were also made every 24 h. The present toxicity assay revealed that the raw tannery effluent changed the morphology, physiology, and behavioural response of fish. Moreover, fish exposure to raw/untreated effluent caused high acute toxicity and 100% mortality, due to the presence of high concentrations of salts and chromium (Cr) metal. While treatment of tannery effluent by CWs vegetated with different plants (B. mutica, L. fusca, and T. domingensis) significantly reduced its toxicity and fish mortality as well, and inoculation of salt and Cr-tolerant endophytic bacteria (Enterobacter sp. HU38, Microbacterium arborescens HU33, and Pantoea stewartii ASI11) further reduced (up to 90%) its toxicity level. Hence, the use of CWs for tannery effluent treatment can be recommended to favour public health and promote the overall safety of the environmentThis research was conducted under the grant number, No. 20-3854/R&D/HEC/14., of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), PakistanS