Fertility Transition in Pakistan: Evidence from Census

In the absence of an accurate and complete registration system, efforts were made to estimate the levels of vital statistics through sample surveys. The first such effort was made through the Population Growth Estimation (PGE) project conducted from January, 1962 to December 1965. Later on, various demographic surveys were conducted almost at regular intervals and the last effort in the series was Pakistan Reproductive Health and Family Planning Survey (PRHFPS) in the year 2000-01. Although all these efforts were made to ascertain levels and trends of various demographic events, yet the estimates particularly the ones on fertility remained controversial. The first signal of fertility reduction was emanated from the 1975 Pakistan Fertility Survey (PFS) which estimated a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 6.3 children from over 7 children estimated earlier from PGE data. However, all hopes of the onset of fertility transition were shattered by the [Retherford’s, et al. (1987)] study entitled “Fertility Trend in Pakistan: The Decline that Wasn’t”. By using the Own Children Method, they confirmed that the decline in fertility was an artifact of the data. Another study by Shah, Pullum, and Irfan (1986) also termed the fertility decline shown by the PFS data as spurious. The Pakistan Labour Force and Migration Survey, conducted five years later, in 1979-80, estimated a TFR of 6.5 children, thus providing another proof supporting the fact that fertility had not declined to the extent believed.

Field resolving spectrometer for mid-infrared molecular spectroscopy

The interrogation of molecular samples with broadband mid-infrared (MIR) radiation results in highly specific “vibrational fingerprints,” containing a wealth of information on molecular structure and composition. This renders vibrational spectroscopy a powerful and versatile tool for applications ranging from fundamental science to the life sciences and to industrial applications. Conventional MIR spectroscopic techniques face severe limitations in detection sensitivity, in particular due to the poor coherence properties of common MIR sources as well as to the moderate detectivity and dynamic range of broadband MIR detectors. The research reported in this thesis has addressed the quest for novel routes towards tapping the potential of MIR spectral fingerprinting, harnessing modern, high-power femtosecond laser technology. The first part of the work reports the construction of octave-spanning, coherent femtosecond MIR sources, employing state-of-the-art 100-W-average-power-level thin-disk Yb:YAG modelocked oscillators. We demonstrated ultrabroadband coherent MIR sources with a brilliance exceeding that of MIR beamlines at 3rd-generation synchrotrons, and found that pulses emerging via intra-pulse difference frequency generation offer superior (and unparalleled) optical-waveform stability as compared to standard optical-parametric amplification. The temporal confinement of broadband MIR radiation to trains of sub-100-femtosecond pulses, together with field-resolved detection via electro-optic sampling (EOS) affords detection of the molecular fingerprint signal in the near-infrared region, where highly-efficient, high-dynamic-range detectors exist. Optimized EOS detection enabled a linear response over an intensity dynamic range of 150 dB at a central wavelength of 8.6 µm. This exceeds the previous state of the art by a large margin and has paved the way to high-signal-to-noise-ratio transmission measurements of aqueous biological samples like living cells and tissue. The waveform stability of the mid-infrared pulses plays a crucial role for real-life field-resolved spectroscopy measurements, and is of paramount importance for precision-metrological applications. In the second part of this thesis, high-quantum-efficiency EOS was employed for precision measurements of waveform jitter, evaluated for millions of pulses. This study demonstrated few-attosecond temporal jitter in the 1-Hz-to-0.625-MHz band, between the centre of mass of the driving near-infrared pulses, and individual field zero-crossings of the emerging, broadband mid-infrared field. This confirms the outstanding waveform stability achievable with second-order parametric processes with an order-of-magnitude improved accuracy compared to previous measurements. Furthermore, chirping the MIR pulse revealed attosecond-level optical-frequency-dependent waveform jitter, whose dynamics were quantitatively traced back to excessive intensity noise of the mode-locked oscillator. Thus, this study validated EOS as a broadband (both in the radio-frequency and in the optical domain), high-sensitivity measurement technique for the dynamics of optical waveforms beyond the standard, optical-spectrum-integrating carrier-envelope phase model. The instrument developed during this thesis was utilized for the first highly sensitive field-resolved measurements in the MIR molecular fingerprint region. It enabled the detection of molecular concentrations spanning 5 orders of magnitude down to 200-ng/mL in aqueous solutions and the examination of living biological systems with a thickness of up to 0.2 mm. Currently, the instrument is being used for the first large-scale studies on disease recognition based on vibrational fingerprinting of human blood serum. The implementation of intra-scan referencing, successfully carried out in the last weeks of this doctoral work, together with fast-scanning techniques and the extension of the MIR spectral bandwidth which are underway at our laboratory, promise to extend the technology pioneered in this thesis to new levels of sensitivity and reproducibility in vibrational spectroscopy. In addition to directly benefitting analytical applications, these developments are likely to afford novel insights into light-matter interactions

Edible Oil Deficit and Its Impact on Food Expenditure in Pakistan

This study is an attempt to analyze the impact of Edible Oil Deficit on Food Expenditure in Pakistan for the period 1971-2008. Edible oil deficit is one of the major concerns for the policy makers in Pakistan. Despite of having agriculture based economy; Pakistan is unable to fulfil her domestic demand of edible oil by local production. This situation forces the government to import edible oil and oil seeds from other countries. This import not only increases our balance of payment deficit but also it negatively affects the ability to finance the external debt repayments. Autoregressive Distributed Lag model has been used to analyse the long run relationship amongst the variables. Other important determinants of food expenditure along with edible oil deficit were also used to check for their collective long run impact. It was found that long run negative relationship exists between edible oil deficit and food expenditure and hence the result derives the policy implication that there is a need to boost up the efforts in the agriculture sector to steadily increase the local production of oil seeds in the country. The relationship between the per capita GDP and food expenditure is found to be positive and significant with elasticity of 0.261 suggesting that 1 percent increase in per capita GDP will cause food expenditure to increase by 0.26 percent. The relationship between food subsidy and food expenditure is found to be insignificant suggesting that due to improper targeting and consumer’s perception about quality and accessibility of subsidized food, Government’s food support programs are not effective.Edible Oil; Production; Imports; Trade Deficit; Balance of Payments; International Trade; Oilseed Crops; Agriculture; Pakistan; Edible oil deficit; demand function; food; inflation; food inflation; household expenditure.

Fertility Transition in Pakistan: Evidence from Census

In the absence of an accurate and complete registration system, efforts were made to estimate the levels of vital statistics through sample surveys. The first such effort was made through the Population Growth Estimation (PGE) project conducted from January, 1962 to December 1965. Later on, various demographic surveys were conducted almost at regular intervals and the last effort in the series was Pakistan Reproductive Health and Family Planning Survey (PRHFPS) in the year 2000-01. Although all these efforts were made to ascertain levels and trends of various demographic events, yet the estimates particularly the ones on fertility remained controversial. The first signal of fertility reduction was emanated from the 1975 Pakistan Fertility Survey (PFS) which estimated a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 6.3 children from over 7 children estimated earlier from PGE data. However, all hopes of the onset of fertility transition were shattered by the [Retherford’s, et al. (1987)] study entitled “Fertility Trend in Pakistan: The Decline that Wasn’t”. By using the Own Children Method, they confirmed that the decline in fertility was an artifact of the data. Another study by Shah, Pullum, and Irfan (1986) also termed the fertility decline shown by the PFS data as spurious. The Pakistan Labour Force and Migration Survey, conducted five years later, in 1979-80, estimated a TFR of 6.5 children, thus providing another proof supporting the fact that fertility had not declined to the extent believed

Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome presenting as short stature: a case report

Introduction: Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome is a rare congenital abnormality of the pituitary that is responsible for anterior pituitary deficiency. It is characterized by a classic triad of interrupted pituitary stalk, absent or ectopic posterior pituitary, and anterior pituitary hypoplasia or aplasia. Clinical presentation varies according to age. In adults it presents as short stature and anterior pituitary deficiency. Without early diagnosis and treatment, mortality and morbidity in these patients is high. Early diagnosis and treatment of this rare disease can prevent permanent short statue of the patient. We report the first case of pituitary stalk interruption syndrome from Pakistan. CASE PRESENTATION: A 17-year-old Pakistani young man presented with short stature and underdeveloped secondary sexual characters. His siblings and parents were healthy, with normal height. An examination showed his blood pressure was 90/60 mmHg, and his height, weight, and body mass index were 142 cm, 34.5 kg, and 17.10 kg/m2, respectively. He had no hair growth on his face, axilla, or pubis. His testes were between 1 and 2 mL in size, with a 4 cm-at-stretch micropenis. His lab investigations showed that his thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was 8.58 uIU/mL (0.4 to 4.2), his free thyroid hormone level FT4 was 0.46 ng/dL (0.89 to 1.76), his prolactin was 21.1 ng/mL (3.0 to 14.7), and his baseline cortisol was 0.30 ug/dL (4.3 to 22.4). His cortisol level after 60 minutes of cosyntropin injection was 3.5 ug/dL (4.3 to 22.4), his insulin like growth factor IGF-1 was 31.56 ng/mL (247.3 to 481.7), his testosterone level was under 2.5 ng/dL (2 to 800), his follicle stimulating hormone FSH was 0.41 uIU/mL (0.0 to 10.0), and his leutinizing hormone LH was under 0.1 uIU/mL (1.2 to 7.8). His bone age was 10 years according to the Greulich and Pyle method, as shown by X-rays. The results from his pituitary magnetic resonance imaging scan were consistent with pituitary stalk interruption syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a young man who presented with short stature and was found to have pituitary stalk interruption syndrome. Despite the fact that this is a rare disorder, it should always be kept in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with short stature. Patients with this disease have an excellent opportunity to reach normal height if they present before the joining of epiphyses

INDIAN MILITARY DOCTRINE AND ITS IMPACT ON SOUTH ASIA’S STRATEGIC STABILITY

India’s aggressive military doctrine exploits the questionable space for a limited war under a nuclear overhang. This doctrine is designed to dilute, if not fully compromise, the notion of nuclear deterrence. Indian military high command has often boasted about waging a conventional war against Pakistan. India’s unilateral decision to repeal Kashmir’s special constitutional status has further exacerbated the volatility of the hitherto conflict-prone environment in South Asia. India’s doctrine manifests in the offensive deployment of S-400 missile systems along Pakistan’s border, further supplemented by the positioning of Dassault Rafale fighter jets. While it might temporarily alter the region’s strategic stability equation, Pakistan must rebalance this shift in its strategic stability. There is a need to review the notion of strategic stability as it applies to the region’s nuclear balance of power. This paper analyses India’s aggressive military doctrine fuelling its desire to wage a limited conventional war against Pakistan, examines the effects of growing military asymmetry, evaluates the impact of the short but swift military action in February 2019, and finally endeavours to determine the stabilizing impact of the nuclear deterrent on South Asia’s strategic stability.   Bibliography Entry Ali, Muhammad, and Syed Mussawar Hussain Bukhari. 2022. "Indian Military Doctrine and Its Impact on South Asia’s Strategic Stability." Margalla Papers 26 (1): 74-84

Machine Learning in IoT Security:Current Solutions and Future Challenges

The future Internet of Things (IoT) will have a deep economical, commercial and social impact on our lives. The participating nodes in IoT networks are usually resource-constrained, which makes them luring targets for cyber attacks. In this regard, extensive efforts have been made to address the security and privacy issues in IoT networks primarily through traditional cryptographic approaches. However, the unique characteristics of IoT nodes render the existing solutions insufficient to encompass the entire security spectrum of the IoT networks. This is, at least in part, because of the resource constraints, heterogeneity, massive real-time data generated by the IoT devices, and the extensively dynamic behavior of the networks. Therefore, Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) techniques, which are able to provide embedded intelligence in the IoT devices and networks, are leveraged to cope with different security problems. In this paper, we systematically review the security requirements, attack vectors, and the current security solutions for the IoT networks. We then shed light on the gaps in these security solutions that call for ML and DL approaches. We also discuss in detail the existing ML and DL solutions for addressing different security problems in IoT networks. At last, based on the detailed investigation of the existing solutions in the literature, we discuss the future research directions for ML- and DL-based IoT security

Acetaminophen induced Steven Johnson syndrome-toxic epidermal necrolysis overlap

Steven Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis are rare but severe form of hypersensitivity inflammatory reactions to multiple offending agents including drugs. Acetaminophen is extensively used due to its analgesic and anti-pyretic properties. It is rendered to be relatively safe, with hepatotoxicity considered to be the major adverse effect. However, very few cases of Steven Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis have been reported with acetaminophen usage in the past. We present the case of a 40 years old lady who developed an overlap of the two condition after taking several doses of acetaminophen for fever. She presented with widespread maculopapular rash, stinging in the eyes, oral mucosal ulcerations and high grade fever. She was successfully treated with corticosteroid therapy along with the supportive treatment. This case addresses the fact, that severe hypersensitivity reactions can occur with acetaminophen which can be potentially life threatening