Sharif Digital Repository

Cotton contributes 0.6% to the value added in GDP and 3.1% to the value added in the agriculture sector of Pakistan. The dusky cotton bug (DCB), Oxycarenus hyalinipennis (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), is among the insect pest species of highest economic significance in cotton production in the country. Adults and nymphs feed on seeds and cotton bolls, affecting seed germination. The dusky cotton bug is a polyphagous insect that feeds on a variety of host plants. Its adults and nymphs typically feed on squares of the cotton plant, resulting in a pale yellow color of squares and subsequent shedding of infested squares. Insecticide resistance in cotton insect pests is an emerging threat to sustainable... 

Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are essential components in modern photonics and optical devices due to their ability to generate new frequencies through the nonlinear interaction with intense light. Synthesizing porphyrin-based NLO materials is complex and challenging, requiring specialized techniques to achieve high purity and yield. Controlling chromophore orientation and optimizing nonlinear optical properties are key difficulties that demand interdisciplinary efforts for practical photonics and optical applications. In the present study by using z-scan technique some of non-linear optical (NLO) parameters includingthird order NLO susceptibility (χ3), and molecular second... 

This paper focuses on characterization of intervertebral disc behavior upon fatigue stress. It consists in in-vitro experiments to measure intervertebral disc deformation with regard to forces applied to produce fatigues test. In this paper, a system modeling based non-invasive method to assess back pain is proposed which may be used for designing of prediction model to predict the failure of intervertebral disc (IVD) experiencing fatigue loading. An artificial compression fracture was simulated in the lower level of vertebra followed by a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bone cement injection. Fatigue loading was applied on the specimens and the load was incrementally increased form 650 N... 

This study empirically investigates how companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) manage their earnings from 2010 to 2019. It also examines the impact of Corporate Governance (CG) on the choice of Earnings Management (EM) strategies among these companies. The study employs data from companies listed on the PSX during the period from 2010 to 2019 to test these relationships. Researchers in current research used discretionary accrual as proxy to measure the EM by using the model that was modified by Jones. Future probability is measured a year ahead cash flow taken from operation, that is, a year ahead discretionary income and a year ahead earnings’ change. To conduct empirical... 

Based on exclusive thermal dynamic of nanomaterials, various applications are noted in engineering and industrial processes. Owing to such thermal impact, the researchers have presented comprehensive research on nanomaterials. While claiming novel applications of nanofluids, the stability of nanomaterials is important for which less attention has been paid. On this end, the aim of current research is to predict the thermal instability of graphene nanoparticles with suspension of water base fluid due to transient Hartmann flow. The Poiseuille flow of water-based nanoparticles subject to the magnetic force is assumed between two plates. The numerical outcomes are predicted with implementation... 

This paper presents recent developments on effects of rest and fatigue loading on properties of healthy vertebra discs. A comparison of different approaches used in literature to study the properties of intervertebral disc is presented. The major achievements in this area so far are discussed in the context of their advantages and disadvantages. The past approaches are based on bio-mechanical models which mostly used statistical techniques for the analysis and estimation of fatigue loaded Intervertebral Disc (IVD). However, those modeling techniques were not flexible enough for analysis of customized tests. In this paper, we applied System Identification (SI) based NLARX modeling technique... 

The growth and productivity of different varieties of beetroot Beta vulgaris were examined in presence of urea, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, compost and salt during the field trial, and the chemical constitution of three different varieties, dark red, ruby queen and detroit-2 was identified quantitatively by spectrophotometer. Ruby queen shows maximum growth as compared to dark red and detroit-2. The application of urea, nitrogen, phosphate, potassium and compost reduces the amount of catalase and total antioxidant enzymic potensial while increasing the concentrations of proteins, lipids, and sugars, with high growth and yield. Maximum growth was observed in the presence of urea, while... 

This study focuses on a forward looking approach in which deep eutectic solvents (DESs), a new class of designer solvents, were impregnated into micro porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane for the separation of CO2 from CH4. Three types of DESs were prepared by mixing and heating of hydrogen bond acceptor (choline chloride) with either malic acid, tartaric acid or oxalic acid as hydrogen bond donor. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the hydrogen bond interactions in the resulting DES. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to evaluate the thermal stability of the prepared membranes. The DES based supported liquid membranes were investigated systematically to... 

The microfluidic device, known simply as microfluidics, is an emerging technology that has become a significant tool for pharmaceutical businesses to process and analyze materials for developing, optimizing, testing, and delivering various drugs in advanced nanocarriers. Technically, microfluidics is a technique to handle small solution volumes (nanoliters to picoliters) in microchambers of different geometries and dimensions ranging from a few nanometers to hundreds of micrometers. Each year, many pharmaceutical drug delivery systems have failed clinical translation because of scale-up problems. Now, scientists are trying to find some suitable alternatives and more robust methodologies to... 

An energy management system (EMS) was proposed for a campus microgrid (μG) with the incorporation of renewable energy resources to reduce the operational expenses and costs. Many uncertainties have created problems for microgrids that limit the generation of photovoltaics, causing an upsurge in the energy market prices, where regulating the voltage or frequency is a challenging task among several microgrid systems, and in the present era, it is an extremely important research area. This type of difficulty may be mitigated in the distribution system by utilizing the optimal demand response (DR) planning strategy and a distributed generator (DG). The goal of this article was to present a... 

Aluminum alloys have promising characteristics which make them more useful in industrial applications for thermal management and entropy of the fluidic system. Hence, the current research deals with the analysis of entropy and thermal performance of (C2H6O2–H2O)/50:50% saturated by (AA7072/AA7076/Ti6AI4V) alloys. Traditional problem modified using enhanced characteristics of ternary alloys and hydrocarbon 50:50% base fluid. Further, significant effects of nonlinear solar radiations, dissipation and convective heat condition effects are also taken in the problem formulation. The developed model analyzed numerically and simulated the results for thermal performance, comparative entropy, shear... 

As of late quantum calculus is broadly utilized in different parts of mathematics. Uniquely, the hypothesis of univalent functions can be newly portrayed by utilizing q-calculus. In this paper, we utilize our recently presented symmetric p,q-number m p,q to characterize new symmetric p,q-derivative D p,q of analytic function f in the open unit disk U. Utilizing D p,q, we introduce new class of analytic star-like functions and examine some fascinating results. © 2021 Khalid Akbar et al  

As of late quantum calculus is broadly utilized in different parts of mathematics. Uniquely, the hypothesis of univalent functions can be newly portrayed by utilizing q-calculus. In this paper, we utilize our recently presented symmetric p,q-number m p,q to characterize new symmetric p,q-derivative D p,q of analytic function f in the open unit disk U. Utilizing D p,q, we introduce new class of analytic star-like functions and examine some fascinating results. © 2021 Khalid Akbar et al  

Early clinical diagnosis and treatment of disease rely heavily on measuring the many various types of medical information that are scattered throughout the body. Continuous and accurate monitoring of the human body is required in order to identify abnormal medical signals and to locate the factors that contribute to their occurrence in a timely manner. In order to fulfill this requirement, a variety of battery-free and self-powered methods of information collecting have been developed. For the purpose of a health monitoring system, this paper presents smart wearable sensors that are based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) and piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENG), as well as hybrid... 

This paper presents the background of low back problem caused by repetitive fatigue loading. We emphasize on mechanism of Intervertebral Disc (IVD) and conditions for which the disc does not recover its original status under repetitive work and cause low back pain. The objective of this study is to identify structural changes in system parameters for fatigue loaded intervertebral disc. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used for studying the behavioral change of spine against cyclic loading as a function of time. Percentage difference and similarity factor was calculated for the analysis. Specimens were applied with impulse testing to measure the stiffness and acceleration after fracture,... 

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of vinegar-soaked Ficus carica fruits (VSFCF) for managing cholelithiasis in adults. A parallel-group, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial at Noreen Nishat Welfare Hospital, Khanewal, Pakistan, was conducted from December 2023 to February 2024. Fifty adults with ultrasound-confirmed cholelithiasis were randomly assigned to receive either VSFCF (1 g/kg/day) or ursodiol (600 mg/day). Primary outcomes included gallstone size reduction, while secondary outcomes assessed symptom relief (pain, bloating, digestive discomfort) and hepatic markers. Data analysis was performed using SPSS with a significance level set at P<0.05. Results indicated a... 

This work’s main objective is to investigate the thermal behavior of a tetra-ferrite-based nanofluid model under four physical controls. The tetra-nanofluid contains Fe3O4, CoFe2O4, NiZnFe2O4, and MnZnFe2O4 tetra-nanoparticles over a porous surface using ethylene and water (50%-50%) as the base fluid. The fundamental constitutive models are reduced nonlinear ordinary differential equations using appropriate transformative functions. The resulting set of governing equations are found using the Runge-Kutta algorithm. The impacts of critical quantities on the heat transfer, shear factor, and Nusselt number are illustrated through graphs and numerical data. It is noticed that when the... 

The productive and straightforward strategy was developed to fabricate graphene based NiFe2O4 doped rare-earth (RE) ions nanocomposites for enhancing the magnetic and structural characteristics of ferrites. RE nanoparticles (NPs) such as Yb3+, Gd3+ and Sm3+ were doped in NiFe2O4 ferrite structure via sol-gel auto-combustion method and hydrothermal method was utilized to fabricate their graphene-based nanocomposites. The weight loss and decomposition of the nanocomposites were determined using temperature-dependent thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA). The single-phase structure of the NiFe2O4, NiFe2O4/G, Yb doped NiFe2O4/G, Gd doped NiFe2O4/G, and Sm doped NiFe2O4/G nanocomposites was... 

Chitosan-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (CS-ZnO NPs) were meticulously fabricated using the sol-gel methodology. The CS-ZnO NPs underwent comprehensive analytical assessments, employing advanced techniques, encompassing X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). An average crystallite size of 15 nm was calculated through XRD. These NPs showed an absorption band at 292 nm. TGA revealed the two-phase weight loss mechanism in the investigated nanocomposite. Effective antibacterial activity, at various NPs concentrations, was observed against Xanthomonas... 

Novel PVA/PEG cross-linked membranes were prepared with (0–20 wt. %) of silica nanoparticles. The presence of both the polymers and additive was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The thermal properties of the membranes were analyzed by TGA and DSC analysis. The morphological and mechanical properties of the membranes were studied by SEM analysis and tensile testing, respectively. The gas permeation performances of the membranes were examined using state-of-the-art gas permeability cell. It was found that permeability of all the gases increased with the increase of silica loading, whereas ideal selectivity of carbon dioxide with respect to nitrogen and methane increased up to 10 wt. % loading and...