Punjab Public Library: An Amalgamation of Mughal and Colonial Architecture and its Impact on the Politics of the Subcontinent

Punjab Public Library stands as a hallmark of combination of two buildings- one a bāradari built in the Mughal period with all the architectural details and qualities of that period, second a later constructed building during the British Rāj, and subsequently added extensions after partition to meet the demand of grander space. The intention of this research paper is to have a closer vision at the use of European style of architecture in addition to existing historical Islamic period’s building. The research will explore the key elements that permit the Mughal and Colonial style of architecture to work side by side for the same purpose, respecting and promoting each other’s architectural eminence. Old and new style of architecture at one place provides a timeline of certain society and these emblematic details represent the change and growth of our culture

The Green Premium : a study of the pricing of green bonds on the Swedish bond market

Issuing environmentally aligned green bonds has become an increasingly popular way to raise capital for green investments during the last decade. This thesis explores potential pricing differences between green and conventional bonds, known as the green premium, on the Swedish secondary bond market. Prior green bond research is inconclusive regarding the direction, size and even existence of such a premium. By creating a sample of 50 matched pairs of green and conventional bonds, we show an average positive green premium of 10 bps on the Swedish market, indicating that Swedish green bonds trade at higher yields than their conventional counterparts. We also study whether the size of the green premium is affected by credit ratings and third-party green certification but find no evidence of such effects. Overall, the results from this thesis add to current green bond research by showing a positive green premium, but the lack of shown effects from credit ratings and green certification indicate that further study is needed to fully understand the pricing mechanisms of green bonds.

The Green Premium : a study of the pricing of green bonds on the Swedish bond market

Issuing environmentally aligned green bonds has become an increasingly popular way to raise capital for green investments during the last decade. This thesis explores potential pricing differences between green and conventional bonds, known as the green premium, on the Swedish secondary bond market. Prior green bond research is inconclusive regarding the direction, size and even existence of such a premium. By creating a sample of 50 matched pairs of green and conventional bonds, we show an average positive green premium of 10 bps on the Swedish market, indicating that Swedish green bonds trade at higher yields than their conventional counterparts. We also study whether the size of the green premium is affected by credit ratings and third-party green certification but find no evidence of such effects. Overall, the results from this thesis add to current green bond research by showing a positive green premium, but the lack of shown effects from credit ratings and green certification indicate that further study is needed to fully understand the pricing mechanisms of green bonds.

Documentation of Illuminated Qur’ānic Manuscript and its Impact on the Social System of the Subcontinent

Illuminated Qur’ānic Manuscripts are unique religious and intellectual culturalheritage of Muslim world. It is important to record these manuscripts, as they are not in a good condition. It is necessary to preserve them and to document them to highlight the highest form of Islamic Arts and to pave way for further researches. This research paper focused on the documentation of an illuminated manuscript, a step towards making copies of these rare manuscripts in order to conserve them. To study and to comprehend Illuminated Qur’ānic Manuscript, the research methodology employed in this paper is derived from qualitative and theoretical research. This research will explain the history and evolution of Islamic Illuminated Qur’āns from the beginning and styles of illumination during different eras and documentation of a specific illuminated manuscript of Qur’ān to preserve the copy. The research focuses on its style of writing and decoration in the development of Muslim Arts and traces its origin in comparison with the other manuscripts of the same era having similar decorative motifs and style of decoration

Applications of genetic algorithms in process-planning: Tool sequence selection for 2.5D pocket machining

Rapid tool change mechanisms in modern CNC machines have enabled the use of multiple tools (sequence of tools) to machine a given pocket. Larger diameter tools that have higher material removal rates are used to clear large open spaces, smaller tools are used for clean up. The challenge lies in selecting that particular combination of tools that minimizes total cost. Previously, we developed algorithms based on network optimization to find the best tool sequence given a list of cutters, cutting parameters and pocket geometry. The formulation was based on certain assumptions that did not account for tool holder geometry. It also required the evaluation of all possible tool-pair combinations for a given tool set. This can get time consuming if the tool set is large. In this paper, we present a genetic algorithm based method to select optimal tool sequences. The algorithm was implemented and bench marked against the graph algorithm. We have found that the GA based method is able to find a near optimal tool sequence without evaluating up to 30% of all possible tool-pairs. Copyright © 2006 by ASME

Applications of genetic algorithms in process planning: Tool sequence selection for 2.5-axis pocket machining

Tool sequence selection is an important activity in process-planning for milling and has great bearing on the cost of machining. Currently, it is accomplished manually without consideration of cost factors a priori. Typically, a large tool is selected to quickly generate the rough shape and a smaller clearing tool is used to generate the net-shape. In this paper, we present a new systematic method to select the optimal sequence of tool(s), to machine a 2.5-axis pocket given pocket geometry, a database of cutting tools, cutting parameters, and tool holder geometry. Algorithms have been developed to calculate the geometric constructs such as accessible areas, and pocket decomposition, while considering tool holders. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) formulation is used to find the optimal tool sequence. Two types of selection mechanisms namely Elitist selection and Roulette method are tested. It is found that the Elitist method converges much faster than the Roulette method. The proposed method is compared to a shortest-path graph formulation that was developed previously by the authors. It is found that the GA formulation generates near optimal solutions while reducing computation by up to 30% as compared to the graph formulation. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Mitigating Operational Risks in Last Mile Delivery of Perishable Goods (Interview Study of African and Asian Retailers)

The aim of the study was to explore the fundamental operational risks, mitigation strategies and the key performance indicators (KPIs) in last-mile delivery (LMD) of perishable goods for African and Asian retailers. Particularly, the research was guided by the following research questions.  RQ1: What operational risks are related to LMD of perishable goods for African and Asian retailers? RQ2: How do African and Asian retailers mitigate these operational risks?  RQ3: What KPIs can be used to ensure the efficiency of LMD of perishable goods

Role of Endocrine System in the Regulation of Female Insect Reproduction

The proper synthesis and functioning of ecdysteroids and juvenile hormones (JHs) are very important for the regulation of vitellogenesis and oogenesis. However, their role and function contrast among different orders, and even in the same insect order. For example, the JH is the main hormone that regulates vitellogenesis in hemimetabolous insect orders, which include Orthoptera, Blattodea, and Hemiptera, while ecdysteroids regulate the vitellogenesis among the insect orders of Diptera, some Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera. These endocrine hormones also regulate each other. Even at some specific stage of insect life, they positively regulate each other, while at other stages of insect life, they negatively control each other. Such positive and negative interaction of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and JH is also discussed in this review article to better understand the role of these hormones in regulating the reproduction. Therefore, the purpose of the present review is to deeply understand the complex interaction of endocrine hormones with each other and with the insulin signaling pathway. The role of microbiomes in the regulation of the insect endocrine system is also reviewed, as the endocrine hormones are significantly affected by the compounds produced by the microbiota

Ameliorating Effects of Arsenic-Induced Toxicity On The Histology Of Vagina And Reproductive Hormones Of Female Sprague Dawley Rats

Objective: To find out the toxic effects of arsenic on the histology of the vagina and reproductive hormones of female Sprague Dawley rats. Methods: 60 female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into control group A and experimental group B with 30 rats in each group. The gross weight of all the rats was checked before and at the end of the experiment. After one week of acclimatization, the control group was administered 10ml of distilled water by oral gavage daily for 14 days and the experimental group was administered 4µg of sodium arsenite dissolved in 10ml of distilled water by oral gavage daily for 14 days. After being euthanized by chloroform inhalation on day 15, blood from each rat was drawn by a single intra-cardiac puncture and stored for biochemical analysis. After that, rats were sacrificed and the whole reproductive tract was removed and vaginal sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E ). The histological parameters were analyzed by using Image J software. Whereas, biochemical parameters e.g. serum LH and FSH levels were analyzed by ELISA.  Results: After exposure to a low dose of arsenic administered for a short period, the gross weight of rats, weight of reproductive tract, height of vaginal epithelium and serum FSH and LH values were significantly reduced in experimental animals as compared to control animals with p-value < 0.05. Conclusion: Low dose of arsenic given via contaminated drinking water for a short period is very toxic to the female reproductive tract which is evident by the histological changes in the vagina and deranged hormonal profile of female Sprague Dawley rats. Keywords: Arsenic, FSH, Free radicals, LH, Oxidative stress, Vagina