Heritability Estimates in Intra and Inter-Specific F2 Populations of Brassica

Six F2 derived inter and Intra-specific Brassica populations along with their parents were evaluated to estimate heritability at The University of Agriculture, Peshawar during 2012-13. Maximum plant height was 181.62 cm for 560 x 867 (B. napus x B. campestris), primary branches plant-1 was 12.47 for 525 x 905 (B. napus x B. olaracea), main raceme length was 76.40 cm for 525 x 905 (B. napus x B. olaracea), pods main raceme-1 was 80.03 for 525 x 905 (B. napus x B. olaracea), pod length was 52 mm for 525 x 905 (B. napus x B. olaracea), pod width was 3.79 mm for 525 x 925 (B. napus x B. olaracea), seed pod-1 was 16.63 for 614 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea), 1000-seed weight was 3.45 g for 609 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea). Higher heritability values were found for most of the quantitive traits. In F2 population maximum heritability estimates were recorded 0.789 in 609 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for plant height, 0.570 in 609 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for primary branches plant-1, 0.660 in 609 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for main raceme length, 0.722 in 614 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for pods main raceme-1, 0.902 in 615 x 617 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for pod length, 0.756 in 609 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for pod width, 0.833 in 614 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for seed pod-1, 0.902 in 614 x 616 (B. juncea x B. juncea) for 1000-seed weight in Intra and Inter-specific F2 population of Brassica. Keywords: Brassica, heritability, variability, Interspecific, intraspecifi

Experimentally Investigated the Development and Performance of a Parabolic Trough Solar Water Distillation Unit Concerning Angle-Wise

The PTC performance was evaluated at four (i.e., 25o, 35o, 45o, and 55o) different adjusting Angles and it clearly showed that the adjusting Angles is highly significant, affecting the efficiency of the collector. The PTC received mean solar radiation 513 kJ.m-2.hr-1 with the absorbing temperature of the absorber in PTC was noted 123oC, 115oC, and 113oC consecutively the months of the year with the adjusting angles of 25o, 35o, and 45o respectively. Distilled water from the solar water distillation unit was found to improve the laboratory’s quality and wash equipment in the hospital. PTC’s efficiency noted 26.9%, 26.3%, and 26.1% with the distilled water up to 217, 313, and 343 ml.m-2.day-1 for the adjusting Angles of 25o, 45o, and 35o respectively. From the result, it concluded that to obtain maximum distilled water, the PTC should be set on adjusting Angles of 25o, 35o, and 45o. The average unit price of distillate from the solar still is assessed as Rs. 2.64/L-m2 with a payback period is 365 days. The unit distillate cost is seen to reduce significantly from Rs. 4.92/L to Rs. 1.57/L. It concluded from results that the distilled water of PTC relatively decent quality

Smart Tech 4.0 in the Built Environment: Applications of Disruptive Digital Technologies in Smart Cities, Construction, and Real Estate

Since the beginning of industrialization, there have been several paradigm shifts initiated through technological revolutions, inventions, and leaps. These were later named the industrial revolutions. Accordingly, the first industrial revolution focused on mechanization, followed by advancements in electrical energy and its usage (second industrial revolution) and digitalization (third industrial revolution) [1]. The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) is based on digital transformation and aims to revolutionize industries’ manufacturing, distribution, and process improvement [2]. Recently, the focus is shifting to Industry 5.0, which aims to complement the existing “Industry 4.0” approach. It puts research and innovation at the service of the transition to a more human-centric, sustainable, and resilient industry. However, there are fields such as the built environment that are lagging behind the technology curve and are yet to materialize the true potential of Industry 4.0. The traditional built environment needs to transform into a smart built environment. Accordingly, it needs a technological transformation aligned with the Industry 4.0 requirements. Disruptive digital technologies must be adopted in the built environment and its associated fields such as construction, cities, real estate, architecture, and urban planning to achieve this goal of technological transformation. Accordingly, in line with the United Nations sustainable development goals, integrated smart cities, construction, and real estate goals can be achieved to promote sustainability in the built environment. Such technologies in line with Industry 4.0 requirements (hereby referred to as the Smart Tech 4.0) have been proposed in various built environment fields. To date, more than 20 such technologies have been identified. Some examples include, but are not limited to: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), Clouds, 3D Scanning, Laser Scanning, 3D Printing, Wearable Technologies, Wireless Technologies, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (XR), Robotics, Blockchains, Software as a Service (SaaS), Digital Twins, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Machine Learning (ML), Ubiquitous Computing, Mobile Computing, Renewable Energy, Autonomous Vehicles, and 5G Communications [3]. Though the huge potential for the adoption and applications of such technologies exist in the built environment, the research around the adoption and implementation of these smart technologies is currently limited. To address this gap, this Special Issue (SI) sought contributions from academic researchers and industry professionals, including construction managers, city and urban planners, project managers, civil engineers, IT managers, real estate and property managers, web developers, software developers, architects, governance management specialists, data scientists, computer systems analysts, and others, to submit their scholarly works. The scholarly contributions in this Special Issue present some important technologies, aspects, and applications of Smart Tech 4.0 in the built environment. In the papers submitted to this SI, researchers have developed a wide range of novel ideas, frameworks, approaches, models, and prototypes that provide valuable resources, guidelines, implications, and adoption approaches for built-environment practitioners, managers, policy, and decision-makers. Overall, this Special Issue compiles diverse but relevant thought-provoking ideas of Smart Tech 4.0 applications in the built environment

A beginner’s guide to developing review-based conceptual frameworks in the built environment

With the boom of industry 4.0 technologies and their adoption in the built environment (BE), conceptual frameworks (CFs) are increasingly developed to facilitate the adoption. It is becoming increasingly important to develop a standard or guide for new BE research entrants and aspirants who want to conduct a systematic literature review and develop such CFs. However, they struggle to find a standard and reproducible procedure to conduct systematic literature reviews and develop CFs successfully. Accordingly, the current study based on requests and inspirations from nascent BE researchers presents guidelines about conducting such studies. A simplistic yet reproducible methodology is presented that can be followed by BE research aspirants to produce high-quality and well-organized review articles and develop a CF. Using an example of big data-based disaster management in smart cities, the current study provides a practical example of conducting a systematic literature review and developing a CF. It is expected that this research will serve as a baseline for conducting systematic studies in the BE field that other fields of science can adopt. Further, it is expected that this study will motivate the nascent BE researchers to conduct systematic reviews and develop associated CFs with confidence. This will pave the way for adopting disruptive technologies and innovative tools in the BE in line with industry 4.0 requirements

Joint Shear Deformation and Beam Rotation in RC Beam-Column Eccentric Connections

This paper discusses joint shear deformation and beam rotation for RC beam-column eccentric connections. Two eccentric connections were designed according to ACI 318-14 and ACI-352 and their half scaled models were constructed sequentially to introduce a cold joint at the beam column interface. Specimen having eccentricity equal to bc/8 (12.5% of column width) and bc/4 (25% of column width) were named as specimen 1 and specimen 2 respectively. The specimens were tested under quasi static full cyclic loading. The results are presented in the form of beam rotation versus drift and beam rotation versus lateral load plots. In addition, joint shear deformation versus drift is also plotted for both specimens. Careful observation of the damage pattern revealed that bond slip occurred at 2.5% drift in both specimens with no yielding of beam longitudinal bars in the joint core due to the presence of construction joint. An increase in out of plane rotation was observed with increase in eccentricity. However, in plane rotation was more in specimen 1 as compared to specimen 2, primarily due to negligible out of plane rotations. Furthermore, joint shear deformation increased with increase in eccentricity. However, it was negligible due to slab contribution as well as bond slippage with minimum load transfer to the joint core. It is concluded that bond slippage is the principal failure pattern whereas out of plan rotation increases with eccentricity without significant contribution to the final failure pattern. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091650 Full Text: PD

Frequency and Pattern of Early Complications after Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy in Obstructive Hydrocephalus

Objective:  To determine the frequency, pattern and outcome of early complications after endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) in Obstructive hydrocephalus. Material and Methods:  The study included 160 patients from Neurosurgery department, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar and private clinics over a period of twelve months. After performing ETV under general anesthesia by a single expert neurosurgeon, the patients were followed up for seven days post operatively for the CSF leak, wound infection, meningitis, seizures, bleeding and in hospital death. Results:  Eighty five percent of the patients had no untoward complications, while 15% showed complications including CSF leak (5%), wound infection (3%), meningitis (2%), seizures (2%), bleeding (2%) and in hospital death (1%). Conclusion:  Due to the less invasive nature, endoscopic third ventriculostomy is favored for treating obstructive hydrocephalus in select patient population as it is safe and have better outcomes

Al-Zakat: Taxation Model in Public Finance

Al-zakat is a Quranic term, which is considered as a religious financial worship. From traditional point of view a fixed percentage i.e. 2.5% is imposed as a religion tax on the Muslims which have a certain quantity of gold, silver and some animals. The heads on which this amount may be spent and the rate is considered as fixed. But the actual fact is that, Quran has used this term for the taxation system of an Islamic state. Different reasons from Quran can be given to prove this claim, e.g. Quran has separated al-zakat from al-sadaqat and expenditure in the way of Allah and do not consider it as a donation, imposition of al-zakat is associated with getting of power, Quran did not appeal to pay it but the order is given for the same, the heads and rate of al-zakat are not given in Quran. Keywords: Quran; Verse; al-zakat; Donation; Sadaqa

Lipid Profiles and Its Association with Pre-Eclampsia and Eclampsia in Nulliparous Pregnant Women

Objectives: To access the lipid profiles and its association with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in nulliparous pregnant women. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 234 nulliparous pregnant women with gestation period of  > 20 weeks and aged 15-45 years, from March to October 2014, in Institute of Basic Medical Sciences (IBMS), Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar, Pakistan with cooperation from gynecology and obstetrics departments of three tertiary-care hospitals of Peshawar & Khyber Medical College, Peshawar,  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Subjects were assigned to three groups i.e., group A, group B and group C. For performing biochemical assays and lipid profiling, through ELISA, blood samples were collected from already subjects both with the disease and the controls. Results: Both subjects having pre-eclampsia and eclampsia showed significant elevated levels (p < 0.001) for low density lipoproteins cholesterols (LDL-c), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-c and LDL-c/HDL-c ratio. But TC of pre-eclampsia subjects were found significantly elevated (p < 0.001) in relation to controls. LDL-c/HDL-c and TC/HDL-c also revealed an elevated significant change (p < 0.001) both for pre-eclamptic and eclamptic subjects. On the other hand, only TG/HDL-c in pre-eclamptic patients was found significantly higher (p<0.004) when compared to control group.  Conclusion: Serum lipid levels were observed higher in pre-eclampsia and eclampsia patients hence an early assessment is necessary to prevent complications in such patients

A Review of Literature on Takaful and Conventional Insurance. Evidence from Bangladesh

Takaful and conventional insurance are the most important financial products that significantly contributes the financial sectors. This paper review and discuss challenges and factors of Takaful and conventional insurance in Bangladesh. Specially several challenges and factors are reviewed and discussed. The authors have been able to review more than thirty investigations over a eighteen years period, from 2006 to 2023. The paper is theoretical and analytical in nature and secondary method has applied. Through a literature review, this paper provides an account of main findings of the literature as well as examines the extent to which insurance gives impact towards financial sectors in terms of challenges and factors. The findings reveal that Takaful industry faces some challenges in Bangladesh such as lack of awareness among customers, regulatory barriers, expert Shariah committees and operational inefficiencies. While factors such as religiosity, Shariah board and regulatory framework have impact on promoting Takaful industry in Bangladesh. The paper concludes with several recommendations for future research, the most important of which is the need for a systematic effort on conceptual analysis as well as empirical study on Takaful and conventional insurance