422 research outputs found
CNN-based anti-spoofing two-tier multi-factor authentication system
No full textMany hybrid and multimodal biometric recognition techniques have been presented to provide secure and authentic systems, incorporating both soft and hard biometric schemes. This article proposes a new hybrid technique which ensures the authenticity of the user to the system, as well as monitors whether the user has passed the biometric system as a normal or spoofed one. The proposed scheme is two-fold: Tier I integrates fingerprint, palm vein print and face recognition to match with the corresponding databases, and Tier II uses fingerprint, palm vein print and face anti-spoofing convolutional neural networks (CNN) based models to detect spoofing. In first stage, the hash of a fingerprint is compared with the fingerprint database. After a successful match of the fingerprint, it is tested on a CNN-based model of the fingerprint to verify whether it is a spoof or real. A similar process is repeated for the palm and face, and based on collective evidence, the system permits the user to login the system. Experimental results over five benchmark datasets verified the effectiveness of the proposed system in providing efficient and robust verification, overcoming the limitations in normal authentication and spoofing practices
Poverty Dynamics of Female-headed Households in Pakistan: Evidence from PIHS 2000-01 and PSLM 2004-05
No full textThe paper attempts to empirically test a naïve version of what is rather stylistically termed as “feminisation of poverty”, using the sub-sample of female -headed households (FHHs) from two household surveys in Pakistan. Although, the database is constrained by quality factors and small sample size, the following findings add to the richness of current research in this area: (a) The numerical incidence of poverty among households headed by females is less than that for all households in the country, at the national, urban and rural level for both the years. This can be traced to the finding that more than 70 percent of households headed by females receive remittances, (b) The incidence of poverty among FHHs during the period 2000-01 to 2004-05 did not decline as fast as it did for mixed households, nationwide. In urban areas, it did not decline at all, (c) Among the determinants of poverty of FHHs, illiteracy, dependency and rural residence exacerbate poverty, while remittances domestic and/ or foreign reduce poverty, (d) The dynamics of incidence of poverty among FHHs during the period indicated that Illiteracy as the factor exacerbating poverty became less important in 2004-05. Moreover, residence in rural areas was also a weaker factor in determining the incidence of poverty. By far the most notable contribution in reducing the incidence of poverty was self-employment in agriculture in 2004-05.
Controlling exciton diffusion and fullerene distribution in photovoltaic blends by side chain modification
No full textThe authors thank the European Research Council for financial support (grant number 321305). I.D.W.S. acknowledges a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. A.J.W. is thankful to the Scottish Doctoral Training Centre for financial support (grant number EP/L015110/1) and A.R. is thankful to EPSRC for financial support (grant number EP/J009016). C.K. acknowledges financial support from the “Thü ringer Landesgraduiertenschule für Photovoltaik” (PhotoGrad). C.K. and H.H. are grateful to the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” (DFG) for financial support within the priority program SPP1355.The influence of crystallinity on exciton diffusion and fullerene distribution was investigated by blending amorphous and semicrystalline copolymers. We measured exciton diffusion and fluorescence quenching in such blends by dispersing fullerene molecules into them. We find that the diffusion length is more than two times higher in the semicrystalline copolymer than in the amorphous copolymer. We also find that fullerene preferentially mixes into disordered regions of the polymer film. This shows that relatively small differences in molecular structure are important for exciton diffusion and fullerene distribution.Peer reviewe
Application of terahertz sensing at nano-scale for precision agriculture
No full textThis chapter employs the state‐of‐the‐art terahertz technique, the focus is primarily to introduce a preliminary analysis and to investigate the water content and presence of any pesticides in leaves in the range of 0.75 to 1.2 THz frequency using the Swissto12 system. It aims at determining the path‐loss response and the complex permittivity of leaves of fresh and drought stressed leaves. In order to obtain higher accuracy and an effective use of water in the agriculture sector, terahertz sensing has potential and is deemed to have a faster, reliable response for the overall monitoring and maintaining the health of the leaves. In modern agriculture, the progress of biosensors plays a vital role in improving both the quantity and quality of yields due to the properties of nanomaterials. The chapter emphasizes the advancement and development of terahertz technology applications in the agriculture sector and presents some of the preliminary studies done in this domain
Reaction, diffusion and dissociation of excitons on carbon nanotubes
No full textPhotoexcitation of carbon nanotubes generates excitons which decay by exciton-exciton annihilation at sufficient density. We examine this decay under conditions of one, few and many excitons per nanotube. A classic ID reaction-diffusion behaviour is observed, with decay limited by diffusion for t>3ps and by reaction for t<3ps. At high densities the exciton population saturates, and by analysis of the rate equations we show that this is consistent with dissociation of excitons when their spacing is 1.3nm, close to the exciton length. ©2010 Optical Society of America
Air Conditioning Technologies and Applications
No full textIn the 21st century, air conditioning is considered a basic necessity for the modern lifestyle of human beings. This book, Air Conditioning Technologies and Applications, provides several studies on the latest advancements in the air conditioning field. The book focuses on energy efficiency, sustainability, and innovative technologies for developing environment-friendly air conditioning systems. The book explores emerging technologies, i.e. evaporative cooling air conditioning, sea water air conditioning, advanced air conditioning materials, localized air conditioning, heat pipe heat exchangers air conditioning, and modernization of synthetic fluids by natural refrigerants, for various applications, including greenhouse temperature/humidity control, zero-energy buildings etc. The book provides a valuable resource for engineers, researchers, and industry professionals developing energy-efficient air conditioning systems for different applications
Splenic Injuries at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania: A Tertiary Hospital Experience.
No full textSplenic injuries constitute a continuing diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to the trauma or general surgeons practicing in developing countries where sophisticated imaging facilities are either not available or exorbitantly expensive. The purpose of this review was to describe our own experience in the management of the splenic injuries outlining the aetiological spectrum, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of splenic injuries in our local environment and to identify predictors of outcome among these patients. A prospective descriptive study of splenic injury patients was carried out at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania between March 2009 and February 2011. Statistical data analysis was done using SPSS software version 17.0. A total of 118 patients were studied. The male to female ratio was 6.4:1. Their ages ranged from 8 to 74 years with a median age of 22 years. The modal age group was 21-30 years. The majority of patients (89.8%) had blunt trauma and road traffic accidents (63.6%) were the most frequent cause of injuries. Most patients sustained grade III (39.0%) and IV (38.1%) splenic injuries. Majority of patients (86.4%) were treated operatively with splenectomy (97.1%) being the most frequently performed procedure. Postoperative complications were recorded in 30.5% of cases. The overall length of hospital stay (LOS) ranged from 1 day to 120 days with a median of 18 days. Mortality rate was 19.5%. Patients who had severe trauma (Kampala Trauma Score II ≤ 6) and those with associated injuries stayed longer in the hospital (P < 0.001), whereas age of the patient, associated injuries, trauma scores (KTS II), grade of splenic injuries, admission systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mmHg, estimated blood loss > 2000 mls, HIV infection with CD4 ≤ 200 cells/μl and presence of postoperative complications were significantly associated with mortality (P < 0.001). Trauma resulting from road traffic accidents (RTAs) remains the most common cause of splenic injuries in our setting. Most of the splenic injuries were Grade III & IV and splenectomy was performed in majority of the cases. Non-operative management can be adopted in patients with blunt isolated and low grade splenic injuries but operative management is still indispensable in this part of Tanzania. Urgent preventive measures targeting at reducing the occurrence of RTAs is necessary to reduce the incidence of splenic injuries in our centre
Impacts, Drivers, and Future Adaptation Opportunities for a Warming Pakistan: Learnings from an Industrialized City
No full textLong-term assessments of temperature variability and its association with different influencing factors at sub-national scales are imperative to aid effective climate policy in urban regions. However, such assessments are rare to find in Pakistan, which is among the top 10 countries expected to be impacted from climate change, particularly global warming. Here, an empirical analysis of the mean monthly temperature in Faisalabad city during 1975–2014 is made. Further, the interlinkages between temperature, land use, and land cover change are explored to facilitate countermeasures in the context of climate change management. The Mann Kendall test and the Sen’s slope estimation coupled with the Theil-Sen slope trend estimator reveal significant rising temperature trends for March to May and November in Faisalabad city (>90% confidence). This condition results in a prolonged summer season, which could lead to urban heat island effect causing heatwaves. Further, significant possible interdecadal regime shifts are identified for each month using the Student’s two-tailed t-test-based algorithm, for the first time in the context of Pakistan. The vegetation loss to built-up area particularly industrial and residential growth – increase in impervious surface due to urbanization – has strong correlation with increasing temperature trends in Faisalabad. Therefore, adaptation measures boosting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal-13 (climate actions focusing local planning) to tackle the possible impacts of these rising temperature trends are recommended. Additionally, from the perspective of increasing impervious surface, a “no-net-loss” policy for urban greenness – which is not yet introduced in the country – is highly recommended as it is proved to be an effective countermeasure for rising temperatures in the wake of urbanization and climate change.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
Prognostically significant fusion oncogenes in Pakistani patients with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia and their association with disease biology and outcome
No full textBackground and objectives: Chromosomal abnormalities play an important role in genesis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and have prognostic implications. Five major risk stratifying fusion genes in ALL are BCR-ABL, MLL-AF4, ETV6-RUNX11, E2A-PBX1 and SIL-TAL1. This work aimed to detect common chromosomal translocations and associated fusion oncogenes in adult ALL patients and study their relationship with clinical features and treatment outcome. Methods: We studied fusion oncogenes in 104 adult ALL patients using RT-PCR and interphase-FISH at diagnosis and their association with clinical characteristics and treatment outcome. Results: Five most common fusion genes i.e. BCR-ABL (t 9; 22), TCF3-PBX1 (t 1; 19), ETV6-RUNX1 (t 12; 21), MLL-AF4 (t 4; 11) and SIL-TAL1 (Del 1p32) were found in 82/104 (79%) patients. TCF3-PBX1 fusion gene was associated with lymphadenopathy, SIL-TAL1 positive patients had frequent organomegaly and usually presented with a platelets count of less than . Survival of patients with fusion gene ETV6-RUNX1 was better when compared to patients harboring other genes. MLL-AF4 and BCR-ABL positivity characterized a subset of adult ALL patients with aggressive clinical behaviour and a poor outcome. Conclusions: This is the first study from Pakistan which investigated the frequency of5 fusion oncogenes in adult ALL patients, and their association with clinical features, treatment response and outcome. Frequencies of some of the oncogenes were different from those reported elsewhere and they appear to be associated with distinct clinical characteristics and treatment outcome. This information will help in the prognostic stratification and risk adapted management of adult ALL patients.Noreen Sabir, Zafar Iqbal, Aamer Aleem, Tashfeen Awan, Tahir Naeem, Sultan Asad, Ammara H Tahir, Muhammad Absar, Rana MW Hasanato, Sulman Basit, Muhammad Azhar Chishti, Muhammad Faiyaz Ul-Haque, Ahmad Muktar Khalid, Muhammad Farooq Sabar, Mahmood Rasool, Sajjad Karim, Mahwish Khan, Baila Samreen, Muhammad Hassan Siddiqi, Saba Shahzadi, Sana Shahbaz, Agha Shabbir Ali, Amer Mahmood, Muhammad Akram, Tariq Saeed, Arsalan Saleem, Danish Mohsin, Ijaz Hussain Shah, Muhammad Khalid, Muhammad Asif, Mudassar Iqbal, Tanveer Akhta
Case-Control Study of Corneal Endothelial Cell Density in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Patients Versus Normal Population Using Specular Microscopy in Rawalpindi, Pakistan
No full textObjective: To assess Endothelial cell counts in the corneas of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma
(POAG) as compared to age-matched healthy individuals using Corneal Specular Microscopy.
Study Design: Case-control study.
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology (AFIO),
Rawalpindi, Pakistan from December 2023 to May 2024.
Methods: A total of 50 individuals were recruited, including 25 phakic Primary Open Angle Glaucoma patients
on antiglaucoma medications for at least five consecutive years. They were compared with 25 healthy phakic
individuals as controls. All the individuals were aged 50-60 years. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was recorded using
Goldmann Applanation Tonometry (GAT). Endothelial cell density was measured using Indirect Specular
Microscopy SP-3000P® in both groups after thorough ophthalmological examination. SPSS 25 was used for
statistical analysis. Age was stratified into 3-year intervals from 50 to 60 years. Paired sample t-test was
employed to assess the mean difference, and a P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Among included participants ( N=50), 26 (52%) were males and 24 (48%) were females. Participants
had a mean age of 55.08 ± 2.48 years. The mean endothelial cell count in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma
patients was 2067±155 cells/mm² compared to controls 2715±315 cells/mm² (P=0.0001). There was no
statistically significant difference in endothelial cell counts (in cells/mm²) between males and females or across
stratified age groups. (P > 0.05)
Conclusion: Primary Open Angle Glaucoma patients exhibit significantly reduced endothelial cell density
compared to healthy individuals. Chronic intraocular pressure elevation and long-term exposure to antiglaucoma medications may contribute to endothelial loss of cells.
How to cite this: Sajjad S, Rauf A, Haider MK, Zahra SM, Naseer MS, Zahra F. Case-Control Study of Corneal Endothelial Cell Density in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Patients Versus Normal Population Using Specular Microscopy in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Life and Science. 2025; 6(3): 381-386. doi: http://doi.org/10.37185/LnS.1.1.88
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