186 research outputs found
Co-infection of water buffaloes in Punjab, Pakistan, with Neospora caninum and Brucella abortus
No full textNeosporosis and brucellosis are 2 well-known diseases causing bovine abortion. This study determined co-infection of Neospora caninum and Brucella abortus in buffaloes for the first time in Pakistan. A monoclonal antibody based competitive ELISA was used to test buffalo sera (n = 312) for N. caninum specific antibodies, while rose bengal plate test assessed B. abortus antibodies. N. caninum and B. abortus prevalence was 42.8% (±6.7, 95% C.I.) and 12.2% (±3.6, 95% C.I.), respectively. Buffaloes >3 years old exhibited higher prevalence than younger ones. Co-infection was particularly significant as 13.2% of Neospora infected buffaloes were also Brucella infected with an overall co-existence of 12.2%, suggesting higher abortion risk in such animals than in those infected with either one of the pathogens. Proper disposal of aborted fetuses and placentae, and testing and culling infected animals are suggested to impede transmission of pathogens.Amar Nasir, Muhammad Ashraf, Abdul Shakoor, Muhammad Adil, Tariq Abbas, Muhammad Kashif, Muhammad Younus, Michael Philipp Reiche
Differential privacy preserving based framework using blockchain for internet-of-things
No full textThe Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled the collection of vast amounts of data that can be used to improve various aspects of our lives. However, the astronomical volume of data generated by these IoT devices has raised significant concerns pertaining to privacy preservation. The amalgamation of the Internet of Things (IoT) with blockchain technology has engendered a promising solution for securing and managing IoT data, but it is still susceptible to privacy breaches. Recently, differential privacy (DP) has been proposed as a promising technique to alleviate these issues. In this paper, we design and propound a complete end-to-end blockchain-based architecture by implementing differential privacy at the stream level generated by IoT devices by deploying Laplace noise and Gaussian noise utilizing low complex cryptography mechanism and fast convergence consensus protocol to surmount the privacy preservation issues in IoT based blockchain network. Our novel DP-based framework introduces the concept of privacy levels as low, medium, and high as set by the data owner and also analyzes the impact of different parameters on the effectiveness of the approach and provides recommendations for tuning them. The workflow of our proposed framework consists of three phases: Data generation phase, Data Sharing phase, and Data Analysis phase. During the Data generation phase, the data owner will first determine the desired level of privacy protection (low, medium, high) and set the privacy budget (epsilon) and sensitivity (delta) of the data. Based on the budget value, the privacy module will generate noise from either Laplace or Gaussian distribution as requested by the data owner. The Data Sharing phase is mainly responsible for transmitting and processing the transactions inside the blockchain network. This is followed by the data analysis phase, which will check for the budget value and the amount of noise added to the data before the noisy data is handed over to the end user. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach through multiple experimental evaluations and simulation results evince that our approach attains high levels of privacy preservation while upholding data utility and blockchain consistency. Overall, our proposed framework provides a promising solution to the privacy challenges in IoT-based blockchain systems, offering adjustable privacy levels to accommodate different privacy requirements. This DP-based approach and the adjustable privacy levels ensure alignment with the growing regulatory requirements for data privacy, such as GDPR, demonstrating compliance with these regulations and building trust with customers. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024
Lead Toxicity-Mediated Growth and Metabolic Alterations at Early Seedling Stages of Maize (Zea mays L.)
No full textTo investigate the toxic effects of lead (Pb) on key metabolic activities essential for proper germination and seedling growth of maize seeds, experiments were carried out with different levels of Pb (0 to 120 mg of Pb L−1 as PbCl2) applied through growth medium to two maize hybrids H-3310S and H-6724. The research findings indicated that growth and metabolic activities were adversely affected by increased Pb contamination in growth medium; however, a slow increase in these parameters was recorded with increasing time from 0 to 120 h. Protease activity decreased with an increase in the level of Pb contamination but increased with time; consequently, a reduction in seed proteins and an increase in total free amino acids were observed with time. Similarly, α-amylase activity decreased with an increase in Pb concentration in growth medium while it increased with increasing time from 0 to 120 h; consequently, reducing and non-reducing sugars increased with time but decreased with exposure to lead. The roots of both maize hybrids had higher Pb contents than those of the shoot, which decreased the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. All these nutrients are essential for optimal plant growth; therefore, the reduction in growth and biomass of maize seedlings could be due to Pb toxicity that altered metabolic processes, as sugar and amino acids are necessary for the synthesis of metabolic compounds, rapid cell division, and proper functioning of enzymes in the growing embryo, but all were dramatically reduced due to suppression of protease and α-amylase by toxicity of Pb. In general, hybrid H-3310S performed better in Pb-contaminated growth medium than H-6724
Conversion of African Americans to Islam : a sociological analysis of the Nation of Islam and associated groups
No full text'Conversion of African Americans to Islam: A Sociological Analysis of the Nation of
Islam Associated groups' is an empirical study of the religious experience of people
who had/have distinctive features in terms of race, ethnicity and historical experience.
The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how African Americans' (AAs) conversion
experience in general, and the Nation of Islam associated groups' conversion in
particular, differ from the studies of recruitment and conversion in the sociology of
religion and New Religion Movements (NRMs). More specifically, their recruitment
and conversion experiences to Islam diverge from those who converted to mainstream
Islam. The study investigates how AAs' historical experience, soci-economic
difficulties and the racism they encountered shaped and influenced their religious
understanding.
Research methods involved participant observations, a survey questionnaire, interviews,
conversations, personal communications and correspondence. To collect ethnographic
data eleven months field research was conducted mainly in the Chicago area and on two
short visits to Detroit, and three years continued communications with Muslim officials
and academics in the area. During the field research and afterwards through personal
communication 181 survey questionnaire responses were received, and 23 Muslim
officials, academics and ordinary Muslims were interviewed through semi-structured,
unstructured interviews, conversation and correspondence.
The thesis begins with a brief history of Islam and Muslims in general and the African
American Muslims (AAMs) in particular. More emphasis is given on the historical
development of the Nation of Islam (NOl). Then in Chapter III, discussions of schisms
in the history of the NOT are examined from sociological perspectives of social and
religious movements. In Chapter IV I aimed to formulate my own perspective to
analyse and study the conversion experiences of AAMs to Islam. I used a multivariate
approach, considering selectively widely held conversion and recruitment theories in the
sociology of the religion. I consider in Chapter V the predisposing conditions for AAMs
that influence their decision-making to join in the NOT, for example, political and
nationalistic sentiments and socio-economic deprivations. In Chapter VI I have applied
different terms to describe their religious experiences, such as conversion, alteration and
reversion. I have analysed further their encounters with the NOT, the methods of
recruitment they used and their major motives for joining the NOT and converting to
Tslam. In the concluding chapters (Chapter VII VTTT) I describe the different responses
of AAMS to Islam following the death of Elijah Muhammad. It is found out that the
Islamic appeal has polarised. While Farakhan's NOT appeared to continue the tradition
and style of the old NOI with the emphasis on nationalistic and socio-economic factors,
Tmam W. D. Mohammed's community turned more to the religious and spiritual aspects
of Tslam. These different approaches led to a polarisation of the appeal of Tslam to
AAMS.
This thesis contributes to knowledge in four key areas; the sociology of religion and
religious movements, the sociology of social and nationalistic movements, religious and
Islamic studies
A balance between the interpretation of al-Qasimi Muhammad Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (v / 1914) and the interpretation of the revelation
No full textيسعى هذا البحثُ إلى الموازنة في آيات الأحكام, بين تفسيرين لعَلَمَينْ من أعلام الأمه الإسلامية, وهما محمد جمال الدين القاسمي (1914م) صاحب التفسير الكبير المعروف بتفسير (القاسميّ) ومحمد جواد مغنية (1979م) (التفسير الكاشف), من أجل التعرف على أهم السمات البارزة للمنهج الفقهي عند كليهما إذ أحدهما إمامي المذهب, والآخر يمثّل مدرسة الصحابة, وبيان أثر ذلك في تفسيريهما, ومعرفة القيمة العلمية لهذه الموازنة في آيات الاحكام, وذلك بإبراز جوانب التفوق في عمل كل منهما, وبيان مواطن التوافق والاختلاف بينهما من خلال الموازنة بينهما في آيات الأحكام.This research seeks to balance the verses of the rulings, between two interpretations of the Islamic nation\u27s flags, and the history of Muhammad Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (1914), the author of the great interpretation known as the interpretation of al-Qasimi and Muhammad Jawad Mughniyah (1979) The most important features are Wikipedia\u27s That\u27s That\u27s The That\u27s The That\u27s The That\u27s Polis With The Travel.
Key words: Balance between the interpretation of al-Qasimi Muhammad Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (v / 1914) and the interpretation of Kashif Muhammad Jawad Mughniyah (T / 1979) in the verses of judgments
Artificial intelligence–built analysis framework for the manufacturing sector: performance optimization of wire electric discharge machining system
No full textIn the era of industry 4.0, digitalization and smart operation of industrial systems contribute to higher productivity, improved quality, and efficient resource utilization for industrial operations and processes. However, artificial intelligence (AI)–based modelling and optimization analysis following a generic analysis framework is lacking in literature for the manufacturing sector thereby impeding the inclusion of AI for its potential application's domain. Herein, a comprehensive and generic analysis framework is presented depicting the key stages involved for carrying out the AI-based modelling and optimization analysis for the manufacturing system. The suggested AI framework is put into practice on wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) system, and the cutting speed of WEDM is adjusted for the stainless cladding steel material. Artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), and extreme learning machine (ELM) are three AI modelling techniques that are trained with meticulous hyperparameter tuning. A better-performing model is chosen once the trained AI models have undergone the external validation test to investigate their prediction performance. The sensitivity analysis on the developed AI model is performed and it is found that pulse on time (Pon) is the noteworthy factor affecting the cutting speed of WEDM having the percentage significance value of 26.6 followed by the Dw and LTSS, with the percentage significance value of 17.3 and 16.7 respectively. The parametric optimization incorporating the AI model is conducted and the results pertain to the cutting speed are 27.3% higher than the maximum value of cutting speed achieved for WEDM. The cutting speed performance optimization is realized following the proposed AI-based analysis framework that can be applied, in general, to other manufacturing systems therefore unlocking the potential of AI to contribute to industry 4.0 for the smart operation of manufacturing systems
Machine learning assisted improved desalination pilot system design and experimentation for the circular economy
No full textDesalination is among the most feasible solutions to supply sustainable and clean drinking water in water scarcity areas. In this regard, Multi-Effect Desalination (MED) systems are particularly preferred for harsh feeds (high temperature and salinity) because of their robust mode of operation for water production. However, maintaining the efficient operation of the MED systems is challenging because of the large system design and variables' interdependencies that are sensitive to the distillate production. Therefore, this research leverages the power of machine learning and optimization to estimate the optimal operating conditions for the maximum distillate production from the MED system. In the first step, detailed experimentation is conducted for distillate production against hot water temperature (HWT) varying from 38 to 70 °C, and feed water temperature (FWT) is changed from 34 to 42 °C. Whereas, the feed flow rate (FFR) is investigated to be varied nearly from 3.6 to 8.7 LPM in the three stages, i.e., FFR-S1, FFR-S2 and FFR-S3. The compiled dataset is used to make the process models of the MED system by three ML-based algorithms, i.e., Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) under rigorous hyperparameters optimization. GPR exhibited superior predictive performance than those of ANN and SVM on R2 value of 0.99 and RMSE of 0.026 LPM. Monte Carlo technique-based variable significance analysis revealed that the HWT has the highest effect on distillate production with a percentage significance of 95.6 %. Then Genetic Algorithm is used to maximize the distillate production with the GPR model embedded in the optimization problem. The GPR-GA driven maximum distillate production is estimated on HWT = 70 ± 0.5 °C, FWT = 40 ± 2.5 °C, FFR-S1 = 6 ± 2.6 LPM, FFR-S2 = 7 ± 1 LPM and FFR-S3 = 7 ± 1. The ML-GA-based system analysis and optimization of the MED system can boost the distillate production that promotes operation excellence and circular economy from the desalination sector.The authors would like to thank Northumbria University UK and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Saudi Arabia for funding this research. Dr. Shahzad also would like to thank the International Desalination Associate (IDA) Fellowship 2022 and RAEng/Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowships Scheme Tranche 19 Reference: LTRF2223-19-103. Waqar Muhammad Ashraf declares to have received the funding from Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF): PEEF/CMMS/21/142 to pursue his PhD at University College London, United Kingdom
Study of Methodology of Fiqh Al-Sīrah in Aṣaḥ Al-Siyar: اَصَحّ السَیّر فی ھَدی خیرالبشر میں فقہ السیرہ کے اسلوب کا مطالعہ
No full textAbdul Rauf Danapuri was a well-known philosopher and famous scholar as well as a Sirah writer. His book Asah Al_seer is a book with jurisprudential propensity and has a outstanding place in urdu sirah literature. This book is different from other sirah books. In this book the author has described the sirah in a different and unique way. He derived fiqh rulings, instructions and practical life lessons from it. This style of sirah writing is called Fiqh Al_Sirah. The author has used both primary and secondary sources but the most important primary source of his book is Hadith. This book is written in response to modernist, rationalist and apologetic approach of urdu sirah books writer’s. After the Qur'anic verses, the authentic hadiths and other authentic traditions have been trusted upon for the background of various events in the biography or for interpretation and extraction from them. You have not only described the traditions of hadiths but have also criticized and commented on their evidences, narrations of hadiths. He has also worked on interpretation and implementation of hadith. You have not only trusted the authentic traditions of Sirah, but also prefer the differences between different traditions of Sirah and on this occasion some traditions are preferred over other traditions. In the book, many jurisprudential debates and problems have been derived from the Sirat Rasool. The jurisprudence debates have been mentioned by the author regularly in different chapters. For example, Kitab Al-Amwal, Nikah Muharram, Sharai Parda and many similar titles have been established. You also mention the opinions of the Imams in these topics and on some occasions they also explain the priority and the reason for priority. This article focuses on analytical study of Asah Al_Seer in the context of fiqh al_sirah
Medina in the Ayyubid period and the Shi'a influence upon it
No full textThe underlying concern of this thesis is to shed light on the history of Medina during the Ayyubid period, discussing and analysing the Shi'a emergence in the city in that time, and the transfer to them of power, the judiciary and the key religious positions. It also discusses their influence over the various facets of life there. The study comprises an introduction, six central chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter includes a general introduction, beginning with a historical background of pre-Islamic Medina, and then proceeds to present an overview of the importance of the subject and the reasons for choosing it. It then moves on to an exposition of the key issues which the study will discuss, and the methodology which it follows. The second chapter provides a concise account of the significance of Medina in the Islamic sources (the Qur'an and the hadith), discussing the role of the city and its inhabitants in their support for and propagation of Islam. It also gives a short account of the history of Medina following the death of the Prophet up until the Umayyad period, and briefly discusses the key historical events during that period. The
third chapter examines the state of the Islamic World prior to and during the Ayyubid period, and discusses the key historical events that occurred in Medina at that time and
their connection with what was happening in the Islamic World. The fourth chapter studies and analyses the emergence of the Shi'a in Medina during the Ayyflbid period, and examines certain accounts of this. It also tracks the history of the Shia in Medina prior to the Ayyübid period by providing critical examples of some of the accounts on the subject. The reasons behind the emergence of the Twelver Shia doctrine in Medina during the
Ayyübid period will also be studied and analysed, and the chapter will explain how the Shi'a came to assume the key political and religious offices in the city. Their relations with other Shi'a sects will also be examined, and the way in which their control of Medina came to an end will be discussed. The fifth chapter discusses political life in Medina during the Ayyubid period and the influence of the Shia upon it, studies and analyses the political
relations between the emirs of Medina and each of the neighbouring tribes, the emirs of Mecca, the sultans of the Ayyubid state and those of the Banü Rasül in Yemen, and
explains the influence of the Shi'a on these relations and the role which they played in the political life in the city. The sixth chapter discusses social life in Medina during the Ayyubid period and the influence of the Shia upon it, by studying the composition of civil society and its groupings, the distinguishing features apparent in each grouping, and the elements of social life and its economic conditions, as well as the constructive interplay between them, in order to present an accurate picture of the city's social life. The seventh chapter discusses the state of learning in the city during the Ayyübid period and the Shia
influence upon it, by examining some of the accounts mentioned by certain historians and travellers. It will also include a refutation of these negative accounts by presenting a thorough, extensive description of the state of learning in Medina, through studying the teaching lectures which were current in the Prophet's Mosque and the madrasas of that time, the kuttabs, the syllabuses, the teaching methods, the most notable 'ulama' and their key works, the role of the Sunni 'ulama' in the flourishing of learned activity and, lastly, the Shi'a influence upon it. The eighth chapter summarises and discusses the study's most
important findings and draws conclusions from them, before making suggestions for future research
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