Gender differences in self-esteem in young adolescents of Karachi

The purpose of this research was to explore the self-esteem trends in adolescents of Karachi, Pakistan with regard to gender differences. The insights from previous literature helped to form the hypothesis that there will be a significant gender difference on the self-esteem of adolescents variable. There were a total 224 (96 male and 126 female) adolescents chosen for this study and the Multidimensional Self-Esteem Scale: a 36 item and a 3 Likert response scale was adapted for this study with the consent of the author. The data analysis revealed that there is a significant gender difference on the variable of self-esteem of the chosen adolescent

Integrated Fungicidal Management for Downy Mildew of Pumpkin (Pseudoperonosporacubensis)

Downy mildew of pumpkin is caused by the fungus (Pseudoperonosporacubensis), which is responsible for considerable damage to the cucurbits. This pathogen plays a major role for yield losses in pumpkin crop. Current study was intended to verify the effectiveness of different fungicides alone and in combination against downy mildew of pumpkin. Diseased samples were collected for inoculation from different farms of Okara district. A pumpkin variety (Mahadeev) was inoculated by spraying method grown at experimental area of the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad under randomized complete block design (RCBD). Selected chemotherapeutic mixtures were sprayed for the control of (Pseudoperonasporacubensis) under field condition. The data were recorded and analyzed statistically. Ipovalicarb (s) + Propanib (P) revealed maximum efficacy against disease (60%) followed by Tebuconazole (s) + Metiram (p) (58%) and Matlaxyal (s) + Mancozeb (p) (55%), Cymoxinal (s) + Mancozeb (p) (52%), Difenconazole (s) +Mancozeb (p) (46%) and Chlorothalonil (p) + Fosytyle Al (39%) respectively. Thus, Ipovalicarb (s) + Propanib (P) can be used to manage the disease under field conditions

Super-Twisting Double Integral Sliding Mode Control For a Grid-Connected Three-Phase Inverter

Grid-connected inverters (GCI) play a crucial role in injecting DC power from renewable resources into the utility grid; moreover, the current quality largely depends on the effectiveness of the adopted control strategy. This paper proposed a novel super-twisting double integral sliding mode control (SMC) algorithm for a three-phase grid-connected inverter with an LCL filter. In this study, the control algorithm is first derived based on the system’s dynamic mathematical model. Then, extensive simulation studies are carried out in MATLAB and Simulink software to validate its performance. Furthermore, the controller effectiveness is rigorously assessed under challenging conditions, including a 400% grid impedance variation, a 66% system parametric variation, grid frequency variation, and higher-order grid harmonic components. Under the worst-case scenario, the total harmonic distortion (THD) value of the grid current remains under 2.6%, demonstrating the proposed controller’s robustness

Investigation of Photovoltaic Grid System under Non-Uniform Irradiance Conditions

Photovoltaic (PV) systems have recently been recognized as a leading way in the production of renewable electricity. Due to the unpredictable changes in environmental patterns, the amount of solar irradiation and cell operating temperature affect the power generated by the PV system. This paper, therefore, discusses the grid-integrated PV system to extract maximum power from the PV array to supply load requirements and the supply surplus power to the AC grid. The primary design is to have maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the non-uniformly irradiated PV array, conversion efficiency maximization, and grid synchronization. This paper investigates various MPPT control algorithms using incremental conductance method, which effectively increased the performance and reduced error, hence helped to extract solar array’s power more efficiently. Additionally, other issues of PV grid-connected system such as network stability, power quality, and grid synchronization functions were implemented. The control of the voltage source converter is designed in such a way that PV power generated is synchronous to the grid. This paper also includes a comparative analysis of two MPPT techniques such as incremental conductance (INC) and perturb-and-observe (P&O). Extensive simulation of various controllers has been conducted to achieve enhanced efficient power extraction, grid synchronization and minimal performance loss due to dynamic tracking errors, particularly under fast-changing irradiation in Matlab/Simulink. The overall results favour INC algorithm and meet the required standards

A Comparative Study Between Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Inverters

Inverters play a crucial role in modern power systems, converting direct current (DC) into alternating current(AC) for various applications. The choice between symmetrical and asymmetrical inverters can significantly impact system performance, efficiency, and cost. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study of symmetrical and asymmetrical inverters, focusing on key parameters, design considerations, and their impact on system performance. Through extensive analysis and simulation, we aim to provide valuable insights for making informed decisions in selecting the appropriate inverter topology for their applications

Classification of Overt and Covert Speech for Near-Infrared Spectroscopy-Based Brain Computer Interface

Published: 7 September 2018People suffering from neuromuscular disorders such as locked-in syndrome (LIS) are left in a paralyzed state with preserved awareness and cognition. In this study, it was hypothesized that changes in local hemodynamic activity, due to the activation of Broca’s area during overt/covert speech, can be harnessed to create an intuitive Brain Computer Interface based on Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). A 12-channel square template was used to cover inferior frontal gyrus and changes in hemoglobin concentration corresponding to six aloud (overtly) and six silently (covertly) spoken words were collected from eight healthy participants. An unsupervised feature extraction algorithm was implemented with an optimized support vector machine for classification. For all participants, when considering overt and covert classes regardless of words, classification accuracy of 92.88 18.49% was achieved with oxy-hemoglobin (O2Hb) and 95.14 5.39% with deoxy-hemoglobin (HHb) as a chromophore. For a six-active-class problem of overtly spoken words, 88.19 7.12% accuracy was achieved for O2Hb and 78.82 15.76% for HHb. Similarly, for a six-active-class classification of covertly spoken words, 79.17 14.30% accuracy was achieved with O2Hb and 86.81 9.90% with HHb as an absorber. These results indicate that a control paradigm based on covert speech can be reliably implemented into future Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs) based on NIRSThis research received no external funding

Design and Analysis of a Hybrid Power System for a Remote Natural Gas Pipeline Control Station

The efficient operation of natural gas pipeline control stations relies on electrical equipment such as data loggers, control systems, surveillance and communication devices etc. These control stations are often located in remote areas, where maintaining reliable, uninterrupted, and continuous power supply poses a significant challenge. In this paper, a hybrid power system (HPS) is proposed to meet the unique requirements of a specific remote natural gas pipeline control station as a case study. Based on the collected site data and load profile for a connected load of 275KW, the proposed system is designed using HOMER Pro software. To ensure continuous and sustainable power supply to the control station, the proposed system combines solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with conventional natural gas generators. The detailed analysis of the capital and energy costs associated with the proposed system reveals that the system is suitable for selected site and can reduce costs substantially

Design and Analysis of a Hybrid Power System for a Remote Natural Gas Pipeline Control Station

The efficient operation of natural gas pipeline control stations relies on electrical equipment such as data loggers, control systems, surveillance and communication devices etc. These control stations are often located in remote areas, where maintaining reliable, uninterrupted, and continuous power supply poses a significant challenge. In this paper, a hybrid power system (HPS) is proposed to meet the unique requirements of a specific remote natural gas pipeline control station as a case study. Based on the collected site data and load profile for a connected load of 275KW, the proposed system is designed using HOMER Pro software. To ensure continuous and sustainable power supply to the control station, the proposed system combines solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with conventional natural gas generators. The detailed analysis of the capital and energy costs associated with the proposed system reveals that the system is suitable for selected site and can reduce costs substantially

A Novel Dual Ultrawideband CPW-Fed Printed Antenna for Internet of Things (IoT) Applications

This paper presents a dual-band coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed printed antenna with rectangular shape design blocks having ultrawideband characteristics, proposed and implemented on an FR4 substrate. The size of the proposed antenna is just 25 mm × 35 mm. A novel rounded corners technique is used to enhance not only the impedance bandwidth but also the gain of the antenna. The proposed antenna design covers two ultrawide bands which include 1.1–2.7 GHz and 3.15–3.65 GHz, thus covering 2.4 GHz Bluetooth/Wi-Fi band and most of the bands of 3G, 4G, and a future expected 5G band, that is, 3.4–3.6 GHz. Being a very low-profile antenna makes it very suitable for the future 5G Internet of Things (IoT) portable applications. A step-by-step design process is carried out to obtain an optimized design for good impedance matching in the two bands. The current densities and the reflection coefficients at different stages of the design process are plotted and discussed to get a good insight into the final proposed antenna design. This antenna exhibits stable radiation patterns on both planes, having low cross polarization and low back lobes with a maximum gain of 8.9 dB. The measurements are found to be in good accordance with the simulated results