RF energy harvesters for wireless sensors, state of the art, future prospects and challenges: a review

The power consumption of portable gadgets, implantable medical devices (IMDs) and wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) has reduced significantly with the ongoing progression in low-power electronics and the swift advancement in nano and microfabrication. Energy harvesting techniques that extract and convert ambient energy into electrical power have been favored to operate such low-power devices as an alternative to batteries. Due to the expanded availability of radio frequency (RF) energy residue in the surroundings, radio frequency energy harvesters (RFEHs) for low-power devices have garnered notable attention in recent times. This work establishes a review study of RFEHs developed for the utilization of low-power devices. From the modest single band to the complex multiband circuitry, the work reviews state of the art of required circuitry for RFEH that contains a receiving antenna, impedance matching circuit, and an AC-DC rectifier. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages associated with various circuit architectures are comprehensively discussed. Moreover, the reported receiving antenna, impedance matching circuit, and an AC-DC rectifier are also compared to draw conclusions towards their implementations in RFEHs for sensors and biomedical devices applications

Analyzing the Impact of Globalization on Economic Growth

Globalization is a buzz word that catches significant importance as a reform agenda post 1980. The current study is an attempt to analyze the impact of globalization on economic growth of Pakistan. The sample period for this study ranges from 1980-2009. For empirical analysis of the study, Autoregressive Distributive Lag model is employed while for data analysis Augmented Dicky Fuller test is applied. It is found that all the variables are stationary at first difference. The empirical findings of the study suggest that economic globalization in long phase of time increase growth in case of Pakistan economy, social globalization has negative impacts on growth and political globalization is insignificant which mean that it will not increase or decrease the growth of Pakistan economy. While in short run economic globalization at lag 1 and social globalization decrease the pace of growth. It is suggested to the government that as overall globalization helps in increasing the growth of economy therefore government should formulate such a policy that helps the economy to be globalized.&nbsp

Institutions and Innovation: Evidence from Countries at Different Stages of Development

This paper empirically analyses the impact of institutions, both formal and informal, on innovation performance of sampled countries at different stages of development. Data of 72 sampled countries on Research and Development Expenditures, numbers of article published, human capital, trade openness, internet users are collected from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) and World Bank database. Formal and informal institutions indexes are constructed using data from Country Risk Guide and The World Value Survey (WVS). Fixed effect and System GMM technique are used to estimate the dynamic relationship between innovation performance and institutional indexes. The study finds positive significant effect of institutions on innovation in case of aggregate sample of developed and developing countries. However, the effects of formal institutions are more significant in case of sample of developed countries, while in developing countries informal institutions are found more effective than formal institutions in affecting innovation performance. The results also show that both formal and informal institutions are supplementary to each other in case of developing countries. Therefore, it is suggested that focus should be given to informal institutions. Moreover, collective initiatives be encourage in developing countries to have diverse ideas from different sectors of the countries. In addition, developing countries should initiate collaborative research projects with technologically advanced countries research and education institutions so as to learn from each other’s ideas and experiences. Keywords: Formal Institutions, Informal Institutions, Innovatio

Sustainability, market conditions and outreach: the vicious misconception of the win-win proposition in the microfinance industry

The shift of the Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) from the poverty- lending approach to the financial system approach is likely to have two counterbalancing effects on the social mission of poverty alleviation and women empowerment. On the one hand and as is desirable financial sustainability could cause MFIs to increase the depth and breadth of their outreach. But on the other hand and possibly at the cost of the social mission financial sustainability may become the core objective of the MFIs. The aim of this paper is to investigate which of the two outcomes is most likely in MFIs following the financial system approach. For this purpose, the paper first develops a theoretical framework to deduce testable hypotheses. The hypotheses are then tested with data from 158 rated MFIs, using various panel data estimation techniques. Results obtained thus reveal that majority of the MFIs in developing countries hold some market power. Besides, we find that financial sustainability is at odds with the social mission of alleviating poverty and empowering women and does not translate into depth and breadth of outreach. The study also discusses some policy implications of the result

MinION as a Teaching tool in a Graduate course in Pakistan

Genomics is a rapidly evolving field of study that is increasingly being utilized as a tool to detect ethnic and tribal-specific mutations that may be the key to rare and common diseases with higher prevalence in the population under study [1]. However, researchers and science educators in remote areas can often find it difficult to access the latest genetic technologies, probably due to its high costs and lack of suitable infrastructure. Recent technological innovations are resulting in portable, low-cost instruments that enable next-generation sequencing in remote environments, offering new opportunities to generate a more widespread network of trained geneticists [2]. We need to formalize educational efforts to teach students and young researchers with hands-on training to excel in molecular and bioinformatics knowledge. Here, we report our experience of using the MinION pocket size sequencer in a graduate course. The graduate course had some theoretical lectures that explained the basic principles of genomics followed be practical sessions. We hope that the training material developed during this course will provide the community with useful tools to help educate future generations of genome scientists in Pakistan.

Gram Negative bacteria and their Antibiotic Resistance: A Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Antibiotics are compounds made from microorganisms that destroy or prevent the growth of other microbes. The constant failure to engineer new antibiotics and imprudent usage of antibiotics resulted in the rise of antibiotics. In 2017, the World Health Organization released a list of the most pathogenic bacteria having the highest resistance against antibiotics which also included many Gram-Negative bacteria. In this study, we reviewed the data on publications on antibiotic resistant (ABR) Gram-negative bacteria by bibliometrics.Methods: The data from 2003 to 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science and used further for statistical analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the characteristics of publications, authors, top countries, leading journals, funding agencies and collaboration aspects.Result: The results showed a total of 10,350 publications with 7.94% annual growth rate in a linear pattern and 23.71 average citations per document on the subject. Lists of the most cited papers and papers with ranking by highest total citations per year were also retrieved. 98% of articles were published in English. Greater research output is from developed countries i.e., USA, China, India, England, Spain, Iran, Italy, Germany, and Japan. USA has the highest number of publications, citations, and Single Country Publications. USA is also the top country to have the highest collaborations with other countries.Conclusion: The study is suggestive for most developing and least developed countries to develop collaborations with researchers from developed countries, especially the USA and UK having domination in research productivity and sources of funding. The results of this study may provide potential prospects for the study of ABR Gram-negative bacteria in the future

Biosafety risk assessment approaches for insect-resistant genetically modified crops

Background: Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is imperative for commercial release of insect resistant, genetically modified crops (IR-GMCs).An insect specific, spider venom peptideω-HXTX-Hv1a (Hvt) was successfully expressed in cotton plants. The cotton plants producing Hvt protein have demonstrated resistance against economically important insect pest species. The study was performed to assess the effects of Hvt producing cotton plants on Honey bees (Apis mellifera).Methods: Three approaches were used to evaluate the effects of Hvt protein on adults of honeybees; whole plant assays in flight cages, in vitro assays with pollen of Hvt-cotton, and assays with elevated levels of purified Hvt protein. Pollens of Bt cotton or purified Bt proteins were used as control.Results: The field experiments did not yield any meaningful data due to high rate of mortality in all treatments including the control. However, the laboratory experiments provided conclusive results in which Hvt, purified or in pollens, did not affect the survival or longevity of the bees compared to the control. During the course of study we were able to compare the quality, effectiveness and economics of different experiments. Conclusions: We conclude that Hvt either purified or produced in cotton plants do not affect the survival or longevity of honey bees. We are also of the view that starting at laboratory level assays not only gives meaningful data but also saves a lot of time and money that can be spent on other important questions regarding safety of a particular transgenic crop. Hence, a purpose-based, tiered approach could be the best choice for pre-release ERA of IR-GMCs.

Clinical Outcomes of physiologically-guided revascularisation

Objective: To assess the clinical outcomes of revascularisation based on fractional flow reserve (FFR) and/or instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR).Study design: Descriptive study.Place and duration of study: Department of Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from January 2012 to January 2020.Methodology: A cohort of patients having moderate to severe coronary stenosis, undergoing coronary revascularisation based on invasive physiological assessment (FFR or iFR) were assessed. The participants were divided into the revascularisation-deferred group and the revascularization-performed group, based on the physiological results. Cox-proportional hazard model building was done, using a stepwise approach by assessing all plausible interactions and considering p-value ≤0.05 as statistically significant.Results: The frequency of major adverse cardiac event (MACE) and target vessel revascularisation was 8.4% and 3.2% in the revascularisation-performed group as compared to 6.4% and 3.2% in the revascularisation-deferred group. In adjusted models, no statistically significant difference was noted in MACE when comparing the revascularisation-performed group with a deferred group.Conclusion: Revascularisation guided by invasive physiological assessment with FFR or iFR is clinically safe and led to better resource utilisation. Key Words: Fractional flow reserve, Instantaneous wave-free ratio, Invasive physiological assessment, Low-middle income country

Properties of an invariant set of weights of perceptrons

In this paper, the dynamics of weights of perceptrons are investigated based on the perceptron training algorithm. In particular, the condition that the system map is not injective is derived. Based on the derived condition, an invariant set that results to a bijective invariant map is characterized. Also, it is shown that some weights outside the invariant set will be moved to the invariant set. Hence, the invariant set is attracting. Computer numerical simulation results on various perceptrons with exhibiting various behaviors, such as fixed point behaviors, limit cycle behaviors and chaotic behaviors, are illustrated

Histomorphological changes in gonads of Clupisoma naziri during spring and summer season

Present study was conducted to analyse the effect of breeding and non-breeding seasons on histomorphological changes in gonads of Clupisoma naziri. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Punjab, Pakistan, 43 mature fish of both sexes were gathered from the Indus River and its tributaries. In the non-breeding season (spring), both testis and ovaries went through a preparatory phase, with thick tunica albuginea and fast spermatogenesis in testes and the formation of cortical alveoli or yolk vesicles in the cortex of the cytoplasm in ovaries. The testicular lobules were loaded with spermatozoa and some spermatogenic cells during breeding season (summer), while the ovaries were filled with mature ovarian follicles. The breeding season is marked by spermatozoa leaking freely from testes and ovaries brimming with completely mature eggs. The gonadosomatic (GSI) results are consistent with the histomorphological results of gonads, as their values peak during breeding season and drop during non-breeding season. C. naziri breeds once a year during the summer season, according to the current study, and this information will aid aqua breeders in the culturing of this commercially significant catfish in Pakistan