Quality of Underground Water of Tehsil Khanewal- An Overview

Agriculture is the back bone of Pakistan’s economy of Pakistan with 21 % contribution to GDP and providing livelihood to about 45 % of the total labor force of the country. The industry of Pakistan is mainly agro based (Economic survey of Pakistan, 2009-10). Due to change in climate and thereby extended drought, surface water resources of the country had reduced by 70% in 2003, compared with normal years (Kahlown et al., 2003). Unfortunately, canal water is not sufficient to meet requirements of soil and crop under intensive cropping system. A water quality study has shown that out of 560,000 tube wells in Indus Basin, about 70% are pumping sodic water which in turn is affecting the soil health and crop yield (Kahlown et al., 2003).The ground waters of different areas and depths have different types of salts which deteriorate the soil accordingly (Masood and Gohre, 2000). It is also reported that 73.38% (681) of the 922 water samples analyzed by the soil and water laboratory Vehari during the year 2006-07, were unfit for irrigation purpose, while 11.93% (110) were marginally fit and only14.21 (131) were found fit for irrigation purpose (Ashraf et al., 2008). According to the estimates, discharge of 50-60 % of the existing wells was brackish in nature (Ashraf et al., 2009) and still more formidable figures of Lahore district declaring that groundwater of 76.6% villages of the district was detrimental for crops and soil health (Ali et al., 2009).According to Shakir et al. (2002), 64 water samples were collected from new tube well bores from various locations of district Kasur to check the quality of under-groundwater for irrigation purpose. The results show that electrical conductivity of the samples varied from 524 to 5700 μS cm-1, sodium adsorption ration of the samples ranged from 0.49 to 26.00, while residual sodium carbonate ranged from 0.00 to 17.00 meL-1. Out of 64 samples, 26 samples were fit, 8 marginally fit and 30 unfit for irrigation.The successful crop production on sustainable basis, mainly depends on the quality of groundwater. The common characteristics considered are electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption rations (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) (Idris and Shafiq, 1999). The concentration and composition of dissolved constituents in water determine its quality for irrigation use. It is difficult to define the critical limits of EC, RSC and SAR because the effect of different qualities of water of soil health and crop yield is also governed by the type of soil, climate and management practices (Singh et al., 1992).Gravity of the situation of groundwater of the majority districts of Pakistan implies that something will have to be done without further loss of time to prevent the rapid conversion of productive fertile lands of Pakistan into unproductive barren lands. Besides, making investment on creating awareness among farming community about bio-saline technology/ saline agriculture by the private and public sectors, a watchful eye on the quality and quantity of ground water of every district of Pakistan by all the stakeholders and timely tackling the detrimental impact of brackish groundwater by using the available technology to the possible extent is imperative

Advanced sensing techniques for intelligent human activity recognition using machine learning

No abstract available

Empirically testing Keynesian defense burden hypothesis, nonlinear hypothesis, and spillover hypothesis: Evidence from Asian countries

The objective of the study is to evaluate different alternative and plausible hypothesis, i.e., Keynesian defense burden hypothesis, nonlinear hypothesis, and spillover hypothesis by controlling governance indicators in a panel of 5 Asian selected countries during a period of 2000 to 2016. The study employed panel Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) and Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality estimates for robust inferences. The results confirmed the defense burden hypothesis where high military expenditures decrease country’s economic growth. The real interest rate, trade openness, and government education expenditures substantially decreases country’s per capita income due to market imperfection, arms import, and low spending on education. The political instability decreases economic growth while voice and accountability and regulatory control largely support country’s economic growth. The causality estimates confirmed the feedback relationship between i) per capita income and exports ii) trade openness and military expenditures, and iii) real interest rate and exports, while growth led military expenditures and arms conflict, military led exports and political instability, and trade led regulatory control established in causality framework

Hyperglycemia-associated Alzheimer’s-like symptoms and other behavioral effects attenuated by Plumeria obtusa L. Extract in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic complaint with numerous short- and long-term complications that harm a person’s physical and psychological health. Plumeria obtusa L. is a traditional medicine used in the treatment of diabetes to reduce complications related to behavior. Plumeria is a genus with antipsychotic activities. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of a methanolic extract of Plumeria obtusa L. in the attenuation of diabetes, on symptoms of Alzheimer disease, and on other associated behavioral aspects. A single dose of alloxan was administered to an experimental group of rats to induce development of diabetes (150 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) and the rats were then administered selected doses of methanolic extract of Plumeria obtusa L. (Po.Cr) or glibenclamide (0.6 mg/kg) for 45 consecutive days. Behavioral effects were evaluated using three validated assays of anxiety-related behavior: the open field test, the light and dark test, and the elevated plus maze. Anti-depressant effects of Plumeria obtusa L. were evaluated using the forced swim test (FST) and memory and learning were assessed using the Morris water maze (MWM) task. Po.Cr was also evaluated for phytochemicals using total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and high-performance liquid chromatography assays, and antioxidant capability was assessed through assays of DPPH radical scavenging, total oxidation capacity, and total reducing capacity. In the alloxan-induced model of diabetes, the administration of Po.Cr and glibenclamide for 45 days produced a marked decrease (p < 0.001) in hyperglycemia compared to control animals. Po.Cr treatment also resulted in improvement in indicators, such as body weight and lipid profile (p < 0.05), as well as restoration of normal levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) (p < 0.001), a biomarker of liver function. Diabetic rats presented more Alzheimer-like symptoms, with greater impairment of memory and learning, and increased anxiety and depression compared to non-diabetic normal rats, whereas treated diabetic rats showed significant improvements in memory and behavioral outcomes. These results demonstrate that Po.Cr reversed alloxan-induced hyperglycemia and ameliorated Alzheimer-related behavioral changes, which supports additional study and assessment of conventional use of the plant to treat diabetes and associated behavioral complications

Design of Portable Exoskeleton Forearm for Rehabilitation of Monoparesis Patients Using Tendon Flexion Sensing Mechanism for Health Care Applications

Technology plays a vital role in patient rehabilitation, improving the quality of life of an individual. The increase in functional independence of disabled individuals requires adaptive and commercially available solutions. The use of sensor-based technology helps patients and therapeutic practices beyond traditional therapy. Adapting skeletal tracking technology could automate exercise tracking, records, and feedback for patient motivation and clinical treatment interventions and planning. In this paper, an exoskeleton was designed and subsequently developed for patients who are suffering from monoparesis in the upper extremities. The exoskeleton was developed according to the dimensions of a patient using a 3D scanner, and then fabricated with a 3D printer; the mechanism for the movement of the hand is a tendon flexion mechanism with servo motor actuators controlled by an ATMega2560 microcontroller. The exoskeleton was used for force augmentation of the patient’s hand by taking the input from the hand via flex sensors, and assisted the patient in closing, opening, grasping, and picking up objects, and it was also able to perform certain exercises for the rehabilitation of the patient. The exoskeleton is portable, reliable, durable, intuitive, and easy to install and use at any time

Impact of Relay Location of STANC Bi-Directional Transmission for Future Autonomous Internet of Things Applications

Wireless communication using existing coding models poses several challenges for RF signals due tomultipath scattering, rapid fluctuations in signal strength and path loss effect. Unlike existing works, thisstudy presents a novel coding technique based on Analogue Network Coding (ANC) in conjunction withSpace Time Block Coding (STBC), termed as Space Time Analogue Network Coding (STANC). STANCachieves the transmitting diversity (virtual MIMO) and supports big data networks under low transmittingpower conditions. Furthermore, this study evaluates the impact of relay location on smart devices networkperformance in increasing interfering and scattering environments. The performance of STANC is analyzedfor Internet of Things (IoT) applications in terms of Symbol Error Rate (SER) and the outage probabilitythat are calculated using analytical derivation of expression for Moment Generating Function (MGF).In addition, the ergodic capacity is analyzed using mean and second moment. These expressions enableeffective evaluation of the performance and capacity under different relay location scenario. Differentfading models are used to evaluate the effect of multipath scattering and strong signal reflection. Undersuch unfavourable environments, the performance of STANC outperforms the conventional methods suchas physical layer network coding (PNC) and ANC adopted for two way transmission

Pakistan Textiles can Bounce Back Vigorously

The purpose of this research study is to identify and analyze the methods for increasing the market share of the Pakistan Textile industry in the world. This paper discusses the macro economic factors responsible for advancement and development of the textile industry in leading textile producing countries.  The approaches adopted in this study are: firstly, developing a set of key success factors by studying the market leaders in the world i.e. China, India and USA; secondly, problems are being identified in the Pakistan Textile industry by comparing those key success factors with the situations in Pakistan. The problems found in Pakistan textile are further investigated and verified through primary research based on qualitative data. Finally, a set of recommendations is developed for the solution of problems found in Pakistan textile industry to increase its market share in the world. This paper proposes suggestions for solving problems found in Pakistan textile industry. Proper implementation of the guidelines given in this study greatly improves the chances of the Pakistan textile industry realizing its full potentials and ultimately increases its world market share. Keywords: Pakistan, Textile Industry, Key Success Factors, Market Share JEL Classification: L67 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.937

Novel CNGA3 and CNGB3 mutations in two Pakistani families with achromatopsia

PURPOSE: To identify the genetic defect in two Pakistani families with autosomal recessive achromatopsia. METHODS: Two families (RP26 and RP44) were originally diagnosed with retinal dystrophy based upon their medical history. To localize the causative genes in these families, homozygosity mapping was performed using Affymetrix 10K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. Sequence analysis was used to find the mutations in candidate genes cyclic nucleotide-gated channel alpha-3 (CNGA3; family RP26) and cyclic nucleotide-gated channel beta-3 (CNGB3; family RP44). Control individuals were analyzed by allele-specific PCR for the CNGA3 mutation and BstXI restriction analysis for the CNGB3 mutation. After genetic analysis, clinical diagnosis was re-evaluated by electroretinography and color vision testing. During the course of this study, selected affected members of family RP26 were given pink glasses as supportive therapy. RESULTS: Sequence analysis of the positional candidate genes identified a novel missense mutation in CNGA3 (c.822G>T; p.R274S) in family RP26, and a novel CNGB3 frameshift mutation (c.1825delG; p.V609WfsX9) in family RP44. Clinical re-evaluation after genetic analysis revealed that both families have segregating autosomal recessive achromatopsia. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic analysis of two Pakistani families with retinal disease enabled the establishment of the correct diagnosis of achromatopsia. Two novel mutations were identified in CNGA3 and CNGB3 that are both specifically expressed in cone photoreceptors. Re-evaluation of the clinical status revealed that both families had achromatopsia. The use of pink glasses in patients was helpful in reducing photophobia and enabled rod-mediated vision

A Deployable and Cost-Effective Kirigami Antenna for Sub-6 GHz MIMO Applications

In this work, a low-cost, deployable, integratable, and easy-to-fabricate multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Kirigami antenna is proposed for sub-6 GHz applications. The proposed MIMO antenna is inspired by Kirigami art, which consists of four radiating and parasitic elements. The radiating and parasitic elements are composed of a rectangular stub. These elements are placed in such a way that they can provide polarization diversity. The proposed MIMO antenna is designed and fabricated using a soft printed board material called flexible copper-clad laminate (FCCL). It is observed from the results that the proposed MIMO antenna resonates in the 2.5 GHz frequency band, with a 10 dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of 860 MHz ranging from 2.19 to 3.05 GHz. It is worthwhile to mention that the isolation between adjacent radiating elements is higher than 15 dB. In addition, the peak realized gain of the MIMO antenna is around 11 dBi, and the total efficiency is more than 90% within the band of interest. Moreover, the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) is noted to be less than 0.003, and the channel capacity is ≥17 bps/Hz. To verify the simulated results, a prototype was fabricated, and excellent agreement between the measured and computed results was observed. By observing the performance attributes of the proposed design, it can be said that there are many applications in which this antenna can be adopted. Because of its low profile, it can be used in 5G small-cell mobile MIMO base stations, autonomous light mobility vehicles, and other applications