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The hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric generation system (PVTEG) gives two-fold benefits; firstly, it efficiently utilizes the available solar energy as it converts both solar irradiance and solar thermal energy into electricity, secondly, it enhances PV efficiency by reducing the PV module surface temperature. However, the efficiency of the hybrid PVTEG system is usually low because both PV and TEG are not highly efficient devices. Under changing environmental conditions, a well-designed maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller can enhance the generation efficiency by 10%–15%. Therefore, this research explores the evolutionary Neural Network based MPPT control technique for the hybrid PVTEG systems. The snake optimizer optimally tuned weight and biases of the Multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPNN), which provides fast real-time global maxima (GM) tracking. Furthermore, to enhance the robustness of MPPT control, PID gains are tuned using the SO algorithm. Use of the snake optimizer based PID (SOPID) controller with the snake optimizer based neural network (SOANN) results in stable, accurate and fast MPPT under varying environmental conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed SOANN MPPT controller is validated by comparing it with PSOANN, RSANN and GWOANN. SOANN based MPPT controller provides very fast real-time global maxima (GM) tracking with negligible power oscillations. The SOANN controller extract optimal power with an average efficiency of 99.928% and tracking time of less than 5ms. Furthermore, an intelligent data driven based fault detection algorithm is proposed, which do not require any temperature or irradiance sensors reducing cost of the system. Comparative, simulation, quantitative, and statistical results second superior performance of SOANN controller in terms of efficiency, tracking time, stability and fault detection capability under various practical condition.

PV module durability and reliability influences its efficiency and return on investment. Hence, collection of ample and credible PV module reliability data in each climatic zone becomes increasingly essential. In this work, defects and fault modes of field-aged multicrystalline silicon PV modules installed outdoors in Grimstad from 2000 to 2011 are investigated. The investigations were done using visual inspection, current–voltage characterization, temperature coefficient profiling, ultraviolet fluorescence, electroluminescence, infrared thermal imaging, and SEM-EDS analysis. Most PV modules show signs of microcracks, moisture ingress, corrosion, potential induced degradation, optical degradation, and irregular temperature sensitivities. Oxidized silver, tin, and lead were observed in the SEM-EDS results, which confirmed the remnants of moisture ingress. On average, the modules show power output of ∼78% and their efficiency dropped from 13% to ∼10%. The average temperature coefficient of efficiency of the module was found to be ca. -0.5%/°C, corresponding to an average degradation rate of 1.09 %/year over the 20 years period. However, the annual degradation rates when the modules were in the field and indoors were ∼0.98% and ∼1.33 %, respectively. It is believed that limited evaporation of activated volatile carboxylic products under indoor conditions led to the formation and accumulation of carboxylic acids, hence higher rate of degradation. Moisture induced degradation (MID) mechanisms was the root cause for the overall degradation in the PV modules’ power output, especially over the later years.

Particles are a concern regarding tunneling wastewater, but gaps remain in understanding metal(loid)s content and coagulation efficiency. In this research, characterization of the wastewaters before and after treatment was investigated by chemical analysis and various techniques for particle characterization. Then, laboratory work was conducted to evaluate effectiveness of sedimentation and use of coagulants to remove particles and particle-associated contaminants. Both natural (chitosan) and chemical coagulants (ferric chloride sulfates and polyaluminium chloride solution), were applied in a jar test system. The results indicated that short-time sedimentation alone substantially reduced the particle content and particle-associated pollutants, including metal(loid)s, while subsequent chemical coagulation was required to comply with discharge limits. The optimum dosages of chitosan, PIX, and PAX for water 1 after pre-treatment (15 min sedimentation) were 1 mg/L, 3 mg Fe/L, and 3 mg Al/L, respectively, while a dosage of 2 mg Al/L gave the best results in water 3. Furthermore, chemical coagulation significantly decreased the volume density of particles in the diameter range of 1–100 μm, showing that coagulants are efficient for the removal of smaller particles not removed by conventional sedimentation. HIGHLIGHTS Characterization and treatment of tunneling wastewater were considered.; The size distribution, shape, and morphology of the particles were analyzed.; The application of both natural and chemical coagulants was assessed.; The proposed method shifted particle size from coarser fractions to finer fractions.; Chemicals decreased the particle volume showing coagulant efficiency.;

PV systems currently generate 4% of the world's energy needs, and their share is growing quickly. The maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is a complex non-convex optimization problem because the electrical characteristics of the PV model are nonlinear. Changes in temperature, partial shading (PS), and irradiance levels can all affect the amount of power that can be extracted from the solar system. Therefore, in this work, a novel energy valley optimizer (EVO) based MPPT algorithm is suggested to extract maximum power from solar. The classical perturb and observe (P&O), whale optimizer algorithm (WOA), cuckoo search algorithm (CSA), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms are all compared to EVO. Five case studies, including a field atmospheric data study, partial shading, variable temperature, and irradiance, are used to conduct in-depth analytical and statistical analysis. Furthermore, the successful verification of the MPPT control algorithm on the real microcontroller (Arduino MKRZERO board) through the PIL test is a critical milestone in this research. Quantitative, comparative, statistical and experimental results indicate that the proposed EVO-based MPPT achieves superior performance through 30% quicker tracking time and 80% faster settling time, which result in 4–8% higher power efficiency. The results indicate that the suggested MPPT controller successfully addresses the shortcomings of the current MPPT methods.

Abstract Vigna radiata L., an imperative legume crop of Pakistan, faces hordes of damage due to fungi; infecting host tissues by the appressorium. The use of natural compounds is an innovative concern to manage mung-bean fungal diseases. The bioactive secondary metabolites of Penicillium species are well documented for their strong fungi-static ability against many pathogens. Presently, one-month-old aqueous culture filtrates of Penicillium janczewskii, P. digitatum, P. verrucosum, P. crustosum, and P. oxalicum were evaluated to check the antagonistic effect of different dilutions (0, 10, 20, … and 60%). There was a significant reduction of around 7–38%, 46–57%, 46–58%, 27–68%, and 21–51% in Phoma herbarum dry biomass production due to P. janczewskii, P. digitatum, P. verrucosum, P. crustosum, and P. oxalicum, respectively. Inhibition constants determined by a regression equation demonstrated the most significant inhibition by P. janczewskii. Finally, using real-time reverse transcription PCR (qPCR) the effect of P. Janczewskii metabolites was determined on the transcript level of StSTE12 gene involved in the development and penetration of appressorium. The expression pattern of the StSTE12 gene was determined by percent Knockdown (%KD) expression that was found to be decreased i.e. 51.47, 43.22, 40.67, 38.01, 35.97, and 33.41% for P. herbarum with an increase in metabolites concentrations viz., 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60% metabolites, respectively. In silico studies were conducted to analyze the role of Ste12 a transcriptional factor in the MAPK signaling pathway. The present study concludes a strong fungicidal potential of Penicillium species against P. herbarum. Further studies to isolate the effective fungicidal constituents of Penicillium species through GCMS analysis and determination of their role in signaling pathways are requisite.

Objective: To determine the aetiologies and outcomes which would help reduce preventable deaths from acute kidney injury. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Paediatric Nephrology unit at University of Child Health Sciences, The Children’s Hospital Lahore Pakistan, from Aug 2021 to Jul 2022. Methodology: A total of 149 children who fulfilled the selection criteria were included in the study. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes guidelines were used for defining and staging acute kidney injury. The aetiology for each case of acute kidney injury was determined using standard workup/protocol and classified as pre-renal, renal and post-renal. Outcome parameters were recovery, improvement, death and progression to chronic kidney disease. Results: The mean age of children was 61.79±52.26 months, predominantly boys (68.5%). The most common etiological group was renal (73,49%), followed by pre-renal (53,35.6%) and post-renal (23,15.4%). It was observed that the majority of children had stage-3 AKI (63.8%), with kidney replacement therapy (KRT) given in 92(61.7%) cases. Mortality was seen in 30.9%, while recovery, improvement and death occurred in 69(46.3%), 44(29.5%) and 36(24.2%), respectively, at the time of discharge. At three months of follow-up, recovery, progression to chronic kidney disease, and death occurred in 73(49.0%), 20(13.4%) and 10(6.7%) children, respectively. Conclusion: Intrinsic renal disease was the most common etiological group occurring primarily in the form of AGN, and sepsis was found to be the most common underlying aetiology. Most patients presented in Stage 3 of acute kidney injury, and recovery was seen in many patients.

The application of small-scale electrical systems is widespread and the integration of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control for Photovoltaic systems with battery applications further enhances the techno-economic feasibility of renewable systems. For this purpose, a novel MPPT control system using Dynamic Group based cooperation optimization (DGBCO) algorithm is utilized for PV systems. The population in the DGBCO is divided into exploration and exploitation groups. Due to effective mathematical modeling, the drawbacks of existing MPPT control techniques are undertaken. The drawbacks of modern MPPT control become prominent under partial shading conditions (PSC) which give rise to power loss, random fluctuations, and slow control action. The DGBCO is implemented using a search and skip mechanism which significantly enhances the performance of the MPPT controller and improves the efficiency of PV systems. The results are compared with recently developed Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CS), DragonFly Optimizer (DFO), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) techniques. The operating conditions case studies include fast varying irradiance and PS with skewed GM. The DGBCO based MPPT control technique is also validated by the experimental setup. The results are compared using statistical and analytical indices such as tracking time, settling time, power tracking efficiency, total energy, RMSE, MAE, and RE. The results show the superior performance of the proposed DGBCO. Relatively, 2%–8% higher energy harvest, and up to 60% faster tracking time helps to achieve up to 99.86% power tracking efficiency in both transient and steady-state control operation. Lower values of statistical metrices i.e. RMSE, MAE, and SR indicate the robustness and effective mathematic modeling of DGBCO for effective MPPT of PV systems under PS conditions.

This paper proposes a novel method to improve surface finish in turning processes by effectively controlling the cutting depth. A metaheuristic algorithm based PID control system, in combination with a piezoelectric vibration sensor for feedback, is introduced to regulate the position of the servo motor that controls the cutting tool. The PID controller is optimized using Q-learning based Sand Cat Optimization algorithm to achieve the best performance in terms of cutting depth accuracy and surface finish quality. The piezoelectric sensor provides real-time feedback information about the cutting process and allows for precise adjustments to the cutting depth. The results demonstrate the proposed system's ability to handle variations in cutting conditions and tool's wear and tear. Compared to highly optimized standard PID control, improved robustness and stability has been achieved in experimental results by proposed framework. Experimental results demonstrate improved robustness and stability compared to standard PID control. Several materials with high hardness of 20–65 HRC including Phenolic Bakelite, Copper, Thermoplastic, and Stainless Steel (AISI-420, AA6061-T6, and AISI-316) are tested. Minimum value of Vibration amplitude achieved is 0.598 μm for cutting depth of 0.25 mm. The sustained minimum amplitude of vibration and Ra value of the surface finish is found comparable to standard models with less than 10% error.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important crops in maintaining global food security. Plant stand and yield are affected by production technology, climate, soil type, and biotic factors such as insects and diseases. Numerous fungal diseases including Neocosmospora rubicola, causing stem rot, are known to have negative effects on potato growth and yield quality. The pathogen is known to stunt growth and cause leaf yellowing with grayish-black stems. The infectivity of N. rubicola across a number of crops indicates the need to search for appropriate management approaches. Synthetic pesticides application is a major method to mitigate almost all potato diseases at this time. However, these pesticides significantly contribute to environmental damage and continuous use leads to pesticide resistance by pathogens. Consumers interest in organic products have influenced agronomists to shift toward the use of biologicals in controlling most pathogens, including N. rubicola. This review is an initial effort to carefully examine current and alternative approaches to control N. rubicola that are both environmentally safe and ecologically sound. Therefore, this review aims to draw attention to the N. rubicola distribution and symptomatology, and sustainable management strategies for potato stem rot disease. Applications of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) as bioformulations with synthetic fertilizers have the potential to increase the tuber yield in both healthy and N. rubicola infested soils. Phosphorus and nitrogen applications along with the PGPB can improve plants uptake efficiency and reduce infestation of pathogen leading to increased yield. Therefore, to control N. rubicola infestation, with maximum tuber yield benefits, a pre-application of the biofertilizer is shown as a better option, based on the most recent studies. With the current limited information on the disease, precise screening of the available resistant potato cultivars, developing molecular markers for resistance genes against N. rubicola will assist to reduce spread and virulence of the pathogen.

Most industrial processes generate raw heat. To enhance the efficiency of industrial operations, this raw heat is recovered. Thermoelectric generators (TEG), as solid state devices, provide an excellent application of heat recovery in the form of most manageable electrical power. This work presents a novel MPPT controller based on the Mud Ring Optimization algorithm for a centralized Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) under dynamic thermal gradients. The existing stochastic optimization algorithm for Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control in renewable energy systems exhibits several limitations that affect its performance in MPPT control. The convergence speed, local minima trap, hyper parameters’ sensitivity toward the population size, acceleration coefficients, and the stopping criterion all impact the convergence stability. In addition to these limitations, sensor noise sensitivity in measurement fluctuates the control system leading to reduced performance. Therefore, the careful design and implementation of the MRO algorithm is crucial to overcome these limitations and achieve a satisfactory performance in MPPT control. The results of this study contribute to developing more efficient MPPT control of TEG systems and implementing renewable energy technologies. The algorithm effectively tracks the maximum power point in dynamic thermal environments and increases the power output compared to conventional MPPT methods. The findings illustrate the efficacy of the proposed controller providing a higher power output (Avg. 99.95%) and faster response time (220 ms) under dynamic thermal conditions achieving 38–70% faster tracking of the GM in dynamic operating conditions.

Conventional management of stem rot disease of potato, caused by Neocosmospora rubicola, through fungicide application is an environmentally unfavorable practice that calls for an alternative biocontrol approach. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are known to not only promote plant growth but also control diseases caused by various fungi. The study was designed to evaluate the potential of three strains of PGPB and synthetic fertilizer to manage stem rot of potatoes. In the first experiment, PGPB strains Azotobacter chroococcum, Azospirillum lipoferum, and Pseudomonas putida and their combinations were evaluated on PDA medium against N. rubicola using the dual culture technique. All three bacterial strains were found effective in reducing the radial growth of the fungus maximum up to 91%. In the second experiment, in the presence of half and full recommended doses of fertilizer nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), the potato growing medium was inoculated with N. rubicola alone, and with combinations of N. rubicola and PGPB strains (bacterial formulation; BF). N. rubicola increased stem and tuber rot, and decreased tuber weight by 11% compared to the control. On the other hand, sole inoculation with BF significantly increased tuber weight. In addition, a combined inoculation of N. rubicola and BF, or N. rubicola inoculation a week prior to BF inoculation did not affect tuber weight compared to control. However, inoculation of BF a week prior to N. rubicola, controlled rot symptoms and increased tuber weight by 32%. An increase in P application favored the PGPB strains in controlling rot in tubers. The interaction effect of fertilizer N with the inoculation combinations was non-significant; however, the main impact of N was to increase rot in tubers and decrease in potato stems. Hence a prerequisite application of PGPB formulation proved to be an effective tool against N. rubicola infestation in potatoes.

Abstract The current study was designed to evaluate the antifungal properties of Datura metel L. against Rizoctonia solani Kuhn. To achieve this objective, six concentrations of leaves & stem methanol extract of D. metel viz. 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3% & 3.5% were tested against R. solani in vitro. Leaf extract of D. metel was found more effective as its 3.5% concentration caused 75% retardation in test fungal growth as compared to the stem extract. D. metel methanolic leaf extract was fractioned between n-butanol, n-hexane, chloroform & ethyl acetate & bioactivities of isolated fractions were tested against R. solani. The chloroform fraction was found highly effective, as its concentrations 0.1% & 0.01% caused 27% & 21% growth inhibition respectively. So, this particular chloroform fraction was further analyzed to identify various chemical constituents through GC-MS (Gas chromatography mass spectroscopic) analysis. Twelve phyto-constituents viz. eugenol, 2-pentadecanone 6,10,14 trimethyl, pentadecanoic acid, pentadecanoic acid, 1 4-methyl- methyl ester, phytol, 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, heptacosane, n-hexadecanoic, 6-octadecanoic acid, 9, 12 octadecanoic acid, dodecanoic & tetradecanoic acids were identified. So, the present study concluded that the presence of these bioactive constituents make D. metel as an effective antifungal agent against R. solani.

Objective: To determine the type, frequency and clinical presentation of congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract in children. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Pediatric Nephrology Unit of the Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health Lahore, from Mar 2018 to Feb 2019. Methodology: All patients from birth to 18 years of either gender with suspicion of congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract presenting to Pediatric Nephrology unit with different clinical manifestation were enrolled for study. All the children were subjected to detailed history and physical examination including age, gender, height, weight and associated anomalies of other systems while screening ultrasound was carried out with other radiological investigations accordingly. Results: One hundred and forty subjects were enrolled in the study with male to female ratio = 3:1. The mean weight and height of children were 13.35 ± 9.35 kg and 89.66 ± 29.95 cm respectively. Total 85 (60.7%) patients were product of consanguineous parents while 12 (8.6%) were premature and 31 (22.1%) were small for gestational age (SGA). There was history of birth asphyxia in 4 (2.9%) subjects while mothers of 6 (4.3%) were diabetic at the time of conception. Patients had diverse clinical presentation - the most common being urinary tract infection (UTI) seen in 67 (47.86%) while 32 (15.7%) subjects had associated anomalies of other systems. Most common primary anomaly was vesicoureteic reflux (VUR) 83 (59.3%). Conclusion: The most common type of congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract seen in our patients was vesicoureteic reflux. Majority of children presented in infancy with urinary tract infection being the clinical presentation in two-thirds subjects.

Fatigue cracks are a major defect in metal alloys, and specifically, their study poses defect evaluation challenges in aluminum aircraft alloys. Existing inline inspection tools exhibit measurement uncertainties. The physical-based methods for crack growth prediction utilize stress analysis models and the crack growth model governed by Paris’ law. These models, when utilized for long-term crack growth prediction, yield sub-optimum solutions and pose several technical limitations to the prediction problems. The metaheuristic optimization algorithms in this study have been conducted in accordance with neural networks to accurately forecast the crack growth rates in aluminum alloys. Through experimental data, the performance of the hybrid metaheuristic optimization–neural networks has been tested. A dynamic Levy flight function has been incorporated with a chimp optimization algorithm to accurately train the deep neural network. The performance of the proposed predictive model has been tested using 7055 T7511 and 6013 T651 alloys against four competing techniques. Results show the proposed predictive model achieves lower correlation error, least relative error, mean absolute error, and root mean square error values while shortening the run time by 11.28%. It is evident through experimental study and statistical analysis that the crack length and growth rates are predicted with high fidelity and very high resolution.

Purpose: To improve the standard of legal education, legal clinic is one of the modern techniques. Legal profession is a noble profession as it is considered to uphold the justice in a society. A law student may be taught in a such manner that he must be well equipped with professional skills. Methodology: Previous studies have been discussed with the help of current data for thorough review of challenges in Pakistan. Findings: In Pakistan, legal education system needs many reforms in order to produce good lawyers. Without professional skills and practical knowledge; a law graduate is unable to utilize his degree in a proper manner. To attain such professional skills; legal clinics are good approach. Where students may be able to seek practical knowledge and also helping the deserving people. LL. B degree awarding institutions shall make it possible to provide clinical legal education. Law clinics must be installed in law faculties where the experts may be available to educate students. Implications: In this paper, the importance of law clinic is discussed and certain issues are highlighted which are prevailing in current legal education system of Pakistan. Study can help out policy makers to identify challenges and to overcome these issues they can formulate different strategies.

Objective: To determine frequency of various types of infectious complications occurring in patients undergoing hemodialysis using temporary non-cuffed hemodialysis catheters. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The Children's Hospital and the Institute of Child Health, Lahore, from Oct 2016 to Sep 2017. Material and Methods: The study was conducted on 104 patients aged 5-15 years with end stage renal disease. Demographic information like age, gender, duration of end stage renal disease (ESRD), and details about etiology of ESRD, number of days catheter remained in situ, difficult catheter insertion and infectious complications related to catheter were recorded. Exit site, tunnel and blood stream infections and their causative organisms were detected using blood and catheter tip cultures. Results: The mean age of the patients was 11.1 ± 2.7 (range: 5-15) years and female to male ratio 1.48. Internal jugular, femoral and subclavian veins were used in 85.6%, 7.7% and 6.7% of the cases respectively. The frequency of catheter related exit site infection, tunnel infection, blood stream infection and infective endocarditis was found to be 16.3%, 7.7%, 52.9% and 34.6% respectively. Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia were the commonest etiological pathogens in blood cultures whereas Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeuroginosa and Escherichia coli were the commonest organisms found in the catheter tip cultures. Conclusion: Hemodialysis poses a very heavy burden of blood stream infections which should alert clinicians of their timely management to prevent life threatening complications later.

Objective: To determine the frequency and pattern of dyslipidemia in pediatric patients with end stage renal disease presenting in a tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Cross-sectional, observational study. Place and Duration of Study: The Children's hospital and the Institute of Child Health Lahore, from Sep 2016 to Nov 2017. Material and Methods: Children aged 5-15 years, of either gender and diagnosed with end stage renal disease were selected for the study. All the patients were undergoing renal replacement therapy in the form of hemodialysis and/or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein were measured. Results: There were 138 patients in the study with mean age 11.24 ± 2.37 years and male to female ratio 2.5:1. The mean ± SD values of total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and low density lipoprotein were found to be 174.0 ± 54.1, 241.2 ± 142.4 and 95.2 ± 49.0 mg/dl respectively. The frequency of abnormally high levels of total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and low density lipoprotein were found to be 21.7%, 84.8% and 19.6% respectively. The lipid profile of patients on peritoneal dialysis was markedly elevated as compared to that of patients on maintenance hemodialysis (p-value ≤0.05). Conclusion: Majority of pediatric patients with end stage renal disease had suffered from dyslipidemia especially raised serum triglycerides. Timely identification of abnormal lipid levels and appropriate management is expected to help reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with dyslipidemia in these pediatric patients. Moreover, lipid profile of patients on peritoneal dialysis was more deranged than those on hemodialysis.

Purpose: This research paper aims to study the standing of learning of Islamic Law in contemporary universities. The present study highlights the significance of Islamic Law learning to the legal practitioners (Bar) and legal academicians in general and to the judges (Bench) in particular. This paper endeavors to conduct a case study of learning of Islamic law in contemporary universities in Muslim and Non-Muslim jurisdictions. Methodology: For the purpose of this research paper, two universities have been selected where departments of Islamic law learning are established, i.e., Faculty of Sharīʻah & Law of International Islamic University, Islamabad and Harvard Islamic Legal Studies Program of Harvard law School. This study explores that how far the above-mentioned institutions in various jurisdictions have been successful in imparting Islamic Law education among their law students. It follows discussion on the relevancy of Islamic law learning and its understanding in the solution of contemporary issues of the modern world. Findings: This paper finds that Islamic law, being based on divine guidance, is the complete code of conduct and therefore, provides guidelines to discover and find out the solutions of all issues of modern world to Bar, academicians and Bench.

Purpose: Recent media reports of money laundering through fake bank accounts implicate the involvement of banks in money laundering through "managed bank accounts". Further the waivers of loan of apparently sound institutions also give rise to specific questions and reservations on the role of banks. This paper attempts to explore the answer to those fundamental questions. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research follows qualitative content analysis methods to critically analyze the role of banks in money laundering and loan waiver policies. Findings: The research finds that despite of heavy banking regulations and laws the banking accounts are being used for money laundering. Further, the research concludes that the act of waiving off loans allegedly has provided a channel to misuse the public earned money, resulting in gross loss to the public exchequer. Implications/Originality/Value: The research concludes that the role of bank in maintaining the fake/idle accounts and the loan waiver policy and its malafide usage in the banking sector resulted in financial frauds and money laundering in Pakistan

An evaluation of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) char is investigated in this work. Morphological studies, N2 adsorption behavior, FTIR analysis, thermal behavior, and elemental composition are studied. The HTL char yield showed an increase with higher operating temperatures. It increased from 11.02% to 33% when the temperature increased from 573 K to 623 K. At lower temperatures, the residence time showed an impact on the yield, while close to the critical point, residence time became less impactful. Elemental analysis showed that both higher operating temperatures and longer residence times increased the nitrogen content of the chars from 0.32% to 0.51%. FTIR analysis suggested the char became more aromatic with the higher temperatures. The aliphatic groups present diminished drastically with the increasing temperature. Residence time did not show a significant impact as much as the temperature when considering the functional group elimination. An increase in operating temperatures and residence times produced thermally stable chars. HTL char produced at the lowest operating temperature and showed both the highest surface area and pore volume. When temperature and residence time increase, more polyaromatic char is produced due to carbonization.

Organic-inorganic perovskite-like hybrids combine the properties of both the perovskite structure and metal-organic framework compounds. We investigated the magnetic properties of a Cu-based hybrid material grown as a thin film by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. We show that the long alkyl spacers in the hybrid thin film only slightly reduce the ferromagnetic transition temperature in comparison with the bulk. Most interestingly, the single ion anisotropy is larger for the Cu-based hybrid film than for the bulk hybrid. The hybrid thin film consists of two polymorphs in which the ferromagnetic domains are effectively pinned by an antiferromagnetic phase. This leads to a large enhancement of the coercive field enabling memory functionality.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There is not much information regarding the prevalence of different renal diseases in paediatric population in Pakistan due to lack of central data. A few studies have been previouslypublished from individual centres. This study reflects the different histology patternsof renal diseases in children in our centre. OBJECTIVES: To assess the indications for kidney biopsy and determine the different histology patterns of renal diseases in paediatric patients in our centre. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study has been conducted at The Children’s Hospital and The Institute of Child Health Lahore from February 2014 to February 2015. The data has been collected from the renal biopsy record of Paediatric Nephrology department. The paediatric patients of either sex aged less than 16 years diagnosed with renal diseases that required renal biopsy were included in the study. RESULTS: Out of the total of 159 patients, 102(64.2%) were males and 57(35.8%) were females. The age range was 0.7 years to 16 years, mean age= 7.86 years and SD + 4.00. The most common indications for renal biopsy were steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS), atypical nephrotic syndrome and lupus (SLE) nephritis.The most common histology reportedwas Mesangioproliferative Glomerulonephritis in 71(44.7%) patients followed by Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis in 36(22.6%)whilelupus nephritis was seen in(18)11.4% patients. CONCLUSIONS: The most common indication of renal biopsy was SRNS and the frequent histology reported was Mesangioproliferative Glomerulonephritis. SLE nephritis also prevails in large number of paediatric patients.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Renal biopsy is the gold standard in nephrology, not only for diagnosis of renal diseases but also defining the management, prognosis and outcome. OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of the renal biopsy as an outpatient basis procedure with same day admission and discharge. DESIGN: Observational study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study had been conducted at Nephrology Department, The Children's Hospital and The Institute of Child Health, Lahore form 15 January 2014 till 14 January 2015. Total of 169 paedaitric patients having kidney disease who underwent renal biopsy were included as their their admission day, discharge day, biopsy day and complications were taken in account as before procedure patients were screened for bleeding diathesis. After renal biopsy patients were monitored for any complication and patients who showed no complication and stable were discharged from hospital on same day of biopsy. RESULTS: Total of 169 patients included, 109(64.5%) were male and 60(35.5%) were females. The age range was from 0.7 to 16 years. 59(34.9%) patients were admitted on same day and renal biopsy was done while 110(65.1%) patients were admitted before the procedure day for renal biopsy. Ninety patients were admitted one day prior for renal biopsy and renal biopsy was done next day. About 88.7% patients were discharged on same day after the procedures. Hematuria was observed in 4.7% patients. CONCLUSION: Renal biopsy is a safe procedure which can be easily done and successfully accomplished as an outpatient procedure with minimum complications as this reduces financial and logistic burden.