Dyeing studies with henna and madder: A research on effect of tin (II) chloride mordant

The present paper deals with the application of natural dyes extracted from powdered henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaves and madder (Rubia cordifolia) roots on woolen yarn and assessment of effect of stannous chloride mordant on dyeability, color characteristics, fastness properties and antifungal activity of dyed woolen yarn. Sixteen shades have been developed for the characterization of their color characteristics and fastness properties. The color strength (K/S value) has been found to be very good in all dyed woolen yarn samples. The color fastness with respect to light exposure, washing and rubbing was quite satisfactory for both henna as well as madder dyed samples. Henna leaves extract was found very effective against Candida glabrata both in solution as well as after application on wool substrate but no antifungal activity is reported in case of madder both in solution as well as on wool substrate

Empirical Investigation of Debt-Maturity Structure: Evidence from Pakistan

We examine the empirical determinants of debt-maturity structure of 266 firms listed on the KSE over the period 2000 to 2004 using several variants of dynamic panel data models. We find mixed support for the agency cost hypothesis as our results show that debtmaturity increases with the size of the firm; however, growth options do not have any significant influence on debt-maturity structure. Our results lend unambiguous support to the maturity-matching hypothesis as debt-maturity varies inversely with operating activities and directly with the maturity of long-lived assets. Finally, we find evidence that supports the taxbased hypothesis but no evidence to support the signaling hypothesis. Moreover, the results demonstrate that there is a significant dynamic component in the determination of optimal debt-maturity structure of the sampled firms. JEL classification: G32 Keywords: Debt Maturity, Capital Structure, Panel Data, GMM, Pakistan

Etiology of acute undifferentiated fever in patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care center in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: Our study aimed at identifying the characteristics and etiology of various causes of acute undifferentiated fever in patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital.Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at the department of emergency medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital from January to June 2016. Adult patients presenting to Emergency department with acute undifferentiated fever were enrolled. Descriptive statistics were calculated in terms of mean±SD for continuous variables like age of the patients and duration of fever, whereas frequency and percentage were computed for categorical variables like gender and causes of fever.Results: A total of one hundred and fifty five patients were included. Out of these 97 (62.6%) were males and 58 (37.4%) were females. Most patients (25.2%, n= 39) were diagnosed as malaria followed closely by dengue fever (n=33, 21.3%) and then enteric fever (n= 10, 6.5%). while 41.9% (n=65) were diagnosed as suspected viral fever based on clinical judgment and inconclusive laboratory results.Conclusion: Malaria was found to be the most common confirmed cause of acute undifferentiated fever followed by dengue and enteric fever. The provision of accurate epidemiological data will enable resources to be directed towards key areas and will be of practical importance to clinicians

A study of English teachers and students’ perception about the differences between annual and semester system of education at postgraduate level in Mardan

AbstractThis research study tried to seek the perception of English teachers and students’ about the differences between Annual and Semester system in terms of students’ learning strategies at postgraduate level. A public sector university in Mardan (established in February 2009) provided the researchers a population who were new to Semester system and who had been seeking education in Annual system before joining it. In order to achieve the objective of the study, a questionnaire was distributed among a randomly selected 120 students having experience of both the educational systems, and interviews with 10 teachers were conducted to record their perception towards both systems of education.The analysis of the data got from both the tools showed that there was found a significant difference between Annual and Semester system in terms of students learning strategies. In Annual system students used to get ample time to master the target subjects, whereas in Semester system, the students had to synthesize the subjects and were not only made to undergo rigorous evaluation in terms of both intellectual and emotional growth

An eco-friendly dyeing of woolen yarn by Terminalia chebula extract with evaluations of kinetic and adsorption characteristics

In the present study Terminalia chebula was used as an eco-friendly natural colorant for sustainable textile coloration of woolen yarn with primary emphasis on thermodynamic and kinetic adsorption aspects of dyeing processes. Polyphenols and ellagitannins are the main coloring components of the dye extract. Assessment of the effect of pH on dye adsorption showed an increase in adsorption capacity with decreasing pH. Effect of temperature on dye adsorption showed 80 °C as optimum temperature for wool dyeing with T. chebula dye extract. Two kinetic equations, namely pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order equations, were employed to investigate the adsorption rates. Pseudo second-order model provided the best fit (R2 = 0.9908) to the experimental data. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted by Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The adsorption behavior accorded well (R2 = 0.9937) with Langmuir isotherm model. Variety of eco-friendly and sustainable shades were developed in combination with small amount of metallic mordants and assessed in terms of colorimetric (CIEL∗a∗b∗ and K/S) properties measured using spectrophotometer under D65 illuminant (10° standard observer). The fastness properties of dyed woolen yarn against light, washing, dry and wet rubbing were also evaluated

Optimization and analysis of cutting parameters using cryogenic media in machining of high strength alloy steel

In this research, liquid Argon is used as a cryogenic media to optimize the cutting parameters for evaluation of tool flank wear width of Tungsten Carbide Insert (CNMG 120404-WF 4215) while turning high strength alloy steel. Robust design concept of Taguchi L9 (34) method is applied to determine the optimum conditions. This analysis revealed is revealed that cryogenic impact is more significant in reduction of the tool flank wear

Localization performance evaluation of extended kalman filter in wireless sensors network

This paper evaluates the positioning and tracking performance of Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) in wireless sensors network. The EKF is a linear approximation of statistical Kalman Filter (KF) and has the capability to work efficiently in non-linear systems. The EKF is based on an iterative process of estimating current state information from the previously estimated state. Its working is based on the linearization of observation model around the mean of current state information. The EKF has small computation complexity and requires low memory compared to other Bayesian algorithms which makes it very suitable for low powered mobile devices. This paper evaluates the localization and tracking performance of EKF for (i) Position (P) model, (ii) Position-Velocity (PV) model and (iii) Position-Velocity-Acceleration (PVA) model. The EKF processes distance measurements from cricket sensors that are acquired through time difference of arrival between ultrasound and Radio Frequency (RF) signals. Further, localization performance under varying number of beacons/sensors is also evaluated in this paper. © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Ticks in Cattle: Their Importance and Chemical and Treatment Control

Ticks transfer diseases to animals and humans. Ticks create major financial losses to livestock and have a variation of adverse special effects on cattle hosts. Tick working as possible vectors for helminth parasites and haemoprotozoa cause blood loss directly. Large numbers of tick’s drinking red blood induce anaemia and decreased living weight in cattle animals, even though their bites can damage the skins. Ticks, are answerable for important financial losses due to their potential to transmit rickettsial, viral infections and protozoan to cattles. Here are a variety of ticks-control tactics available, but then again each has its own set of problems. The importance of ticks and their control are the topic of this review. Ticks have controlled by the help of vaccine and spray or chemicals compounds etc

Role of anterior decompression with internal fixation in dorsal spine tuberculosis

This observational study was conducted in the Department of Neurosurgery Lady Reading HospitalPeshawar from July 2010 to June 2012 (2 years).There were 38 patients with dorsal spine tuberculosis who underwent anterior decompression and fusion using anterior spinal instrumentation and allograft replacement. We included those patients in our study, who undergone anterior decompression with internal fixation for dorsal spine tuberculosis, of both genders irrespective of their age. We excluded those patients who were unfit for surgery, treated conservatively, involved spine other than dorsal spine or undergone procedure other than anterior approach for Carrie’s spine.Clinical outcome of the patients was assessed using the frankle grade. The patients were observed for post-operative complications, neurological improvement and bony fusion