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Recently power crises are increasing day by day in Pakistan due to shortage of energy resources. The financial position of Pakistan is too weak and not in position to install new power projects for the production of electrical power to meet the demand as per requirement. So every consumer is trying to install the power producing devices to meet the demand inorder to run their institutional laboratories, offices, commercial plants and industrial machines. The generator is also one of the power producer device to meet the consumers demand to supply the electrical power to the load in absence of failure of power supply from utility company. A single large unit is very expensive to run the small loads and consume large amount of fuel, so parallel connection of two small generators is very beneficial to meet the demand as per requirement, result in cost saving, and less fuel consumption. QUEST Campus Larkana has installed two 50KVA generators in parallel to supply the required power to the load in absence of power supply to run their offices, workshops and laboratories, this minimize the cost, and increase the reliability of the system. The MATLAB simulation model is developed to analyze the performance of single unit generator and parallel connected generators.

Background: Host immune dysregulation participates in the prognosis of sepsis with high morbidity and mortality. Our study aimed to identify the roles of immuneassociated genes during sepsis progression and to predict sepsis survival up to 24 h at diagnosis, which may help plan future individualized treatments. Methods: GSE54514, GSE57065, and GSE95233 datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database for early identification of differentially expressed IRGs between sepsis patients and healthy controls. Candidate IRGs significantly associated with sepsis survival were obtained by univariate logistic regression analysis. Gene signatures of these IRGs were further selected by Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression and Random Forest Algorithm (RFA). The correlation between signature genes and prognosis was analyzed.Furthermore, signature IRGs were further validated by quantitative PCR (qPCR) on the whole blood of septic patients and an external COVID-19 dataset and candidate drug were predicted. Results: HLA.DPA1, IL18RAP, MMP9, RNASE3, S100P, and PTX3 were found significantly differentially expressed starting very early after sepsis infection and persisting for up to 5 days, and their formed IRG score had a satisfactory predictive value on sepsis outcome. Furthermore, our validation showed that these six IRGs were also significantly dysregulated in both an external COVID-19 dataset and sepsis patients. Finally, 10 potential compounds were predicted to have targeted these genes. Conclusion: Our study developed a prognostic modeling tool for sepsis survival based on IRG expression profiles, and has the capacity for early prediction of sepsis outcomes via monitoring the immunogenomic landscape, and possibly the individualized therapies for sepsis survival.

Lysosomal enzymes degrade cellular macromolecules, while their inactivation causes human hereditary metabolic disorders. Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA; Moquio A syndrome) is one of the lysosomal storage disorders caused by a defective Galactosamine-6-sulfatase (GalN6S) enzyme. In several populations, disease incidence is elevated due to missense mutations brought on by non-synonymous allelic variation in the GalN6S enzyme. Here, we studied the effect of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (nsSNPs) on the structural dynamics of the GalN6S enzyme and its binding with N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) using all-atom molecular dynamics simulation and an essential dynamics approach. Consequently, in this study, we have identified three functionally disruptive mutations in domain-I and domain-II, that is, S80L, R90W, and S162F, which presumably contribute to post-translational modifications. The study delineated that both domains work cooperatively, and alteration in domain II (S80L, R90W) leads to conformational changes in the catalytic site in domain-I, while mutation S162F mainly provokes higher residual flexibility of domain II. These results show that these mutations impair the hydrophobic core, implying that Morquio A syndrome is caused by misfolding of the GalN6S enzyme. The results also show the instability of the GalN6S-GalNAc complex upon substitution. Overall, the structural dynamics resulting from point mutations give the molecular rationale for Moquio A syndrome and, more importantly, the Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) family of diseases, re-establishing MPS IVA as a protein-folding disease. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

POPDC1 also known as BVES, is a highly conserved transmembrane protein, important for striated muscle function and homeostasis. Pathogenic variants in the POPDC1 gene are associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 25 (LGMDR25). In the present study, we performed trio-whole exome sequencing (WES) followed by Sanger sequencing on a single family having LGMD clinical features. Protein modeling of all POPDC1 missense variants (POPDC1

The GluN2B subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors plays an important role in the physiology of different neurodevelopmental diseases. Genetic variations in the GluN2B coding gene (GRIN2B) have consistently been linked to West syndrome, intellectual impairment with focal epilepsy, developmental delay, macrocephaly, corticogenesis, brain plasticity, as well as infantile spasms and Lennox–Gastaut syndrome. It is unknown, however, how GRIN2B genetic variation impacts protein function. We determined the cumulative pathogenic impact of GRIN2B variations on healthy participants using a computational approach. We looked at all of the known mutations and calculated the impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms on GRIN2B, which encodes the GluN2B protein. The pathogenic effect, functional impact, conservation analysis, post-translation alterations, their driving residues, and dynamic behaviors of deleterious nsSNPs on protein models were then examined. Four polymorphisms were identified as phylogenetically conserved PTM drivers and were related to structural and functional impact: rs869312669 (p.Thr685Pro), rs387906636 (p.Arg682Cys), rs672601377 (p.Asn615Ile), and rs1131691702 (p.Ser526Pro). The combined impact of protein function is accounted for by the calculated stability, compactness, and total globularity score. GluN2B hydrogen occupancy was positively associated with protein stability, and solvent-accessible surface area was positively related to globularity. Furthermore, there was a link between GluN2B protein folding, movement, and function, indicating that both putative high and low local movements were linked to protein function. Multiple GRIN2B genetic variations are linked to gene expression, phylogenetic conservation, PTMs, and protein instability behavior in neurodevelopmental diseases. These findings suggest the relevance of GRIN2B genetic variations in neurodevelopmental problems.

We aimed to detect the causative gene in five unrelated families with recessive inheritance pattern neurological disorders involving the central nervous system, and the potential function of the NEMF gene in the central nervous system. Exome sequencing (ES) was applied to all families and linkage analysis was performed on family 1. A minigene assay was used to validate the splicing effect of the relevant discovered variants. Immunofluorescence (IF) experiment was performed to investigate the role of the causative gene in neuron development. The large consanguineous family confirms the phenotype-causative relationship with homozygous frameshift variant (NM_004713.6:c.2618del) as revealed by ES. Linkage analysis of the family showed a significant single-point LOD of 4.5 locus. Through collaboration in GeneMatcher, four additional unrelated families' likely pathogenic NEMF variants for a spectrum of central neurological disorders, two homozygous splice-site variants (NM_004713.6:c.574+1G>T and NM_004713.6:c.807-2A>C) and a homozygous frameshift variant (NM_004713.6: c.1234_1235insC) were subsequently identified and segregated with all affected individuals. We further revealed that knockdown (KD) of Nemf leads to impairment of axonal outgrowth and synapse development in cultured mouse primary cortical neurons. Our study demonstrates that disease-causing biallelic NEMF variants result in central nervous system impairment and other variable features. NEMF is an important player in mammalian neuron development.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the 2nd most common and progressive neurodegenerative disease globally, with major symptoms like bradykinesia, impaired posture, and tremor. Several genetic and environmental factors have been identified but elucidating the main factors have been challenging due to the disease's complex nature. Diagnosis, prognosis, and management of such diseases are challenging and require effective targeted attention in developing countries. Recently, PD is growing rapidly in many crowded Asian countries as an alarming threat with inadequate knowledge of its prevalence, genetic architecture, and geographic distribution. This study gave an in-depth overview of the prevalence, incidence and genomic/genetics studies published so far in the Asian population. To the best of our knowledge, Parkinson's disease has increased significantly in several Asian countries, including China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Israel over the past few years, requiring a greater level of care and attention. Genetic screening of families with PD at national levels and establishing an official database of PD cases are essential to get a comprehensive and conclusive view of the exact prevalence and genetic diversity of PD in the Asian population to properly manage and treat the disease.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of organic carbon sources, cultivation methods, and environmental factors on growth and lipid content of Pavlova lutheri for biodiesel production. In the 250-mL flask bioreactors, P. lutheri was cultivated in the modified artificial seawater (ASW) medium containing glucose, glycerol, sodium acetate, or sucrose as an organic carbon substrate. The effects of different growth conditions (phototrophic, mixotrophic, and heterotrophic) and environmental factors such as photoperiod, light intensity, and salinity were evaluated. Growth of P. lutheri was inhibited under heterotrophy but was enhanced in mixotrophy as compared to phototrophy. Biomass and lipid content of P. lutheri were significantly (p

Background: Hearing loss/deafness is a common otological disorder found in the Pakistani population due to the high prevalence of consanguineous unions, but the full range of genetic causes is still unknown.Methods: A large consanguineous Pakistani kindred with hearing loss was studied. Whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were performed to search for the candidate gene underlying the disease phenotype. A minigene assay and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were used to assess the effect of splicing variants.Results: The splicing variants of OTOF (NM_194248, c.3289-1G>T) cosegregated with the disease phenotype in this Pakistani family. The substitution of a single base pair causes the deletion of 10 bp (splicing variant 1) or 13 bp (splicing variant 2) from exon 27, which results in truncated proteins of 1141 and 1140 amino acids, respectively.Conclusion: Our findings reveal an OTOF splice-site variant as pathogenic for profound hearing loss in this family.

This paper presents the performance of centrifugal pump coupled with synchronous reluctance motor of 24kW. The 4-pole 36 slots induction motor stator has been used for the prototype. The reduction of torque ripple and power losses is the main aim of research. Different arrangement of rotor flux barrier shapes has been tested through finite element analysis method. The rotor optimization carried out by varying different barrier edge angle, width of flux carriers, flux barriers and shaft diameter. The method of particle swarm optimization has been used by generating samples with surrogate assisted optimization technique for performance improvement of the motor. Distinct flux barrier shapes and designs have been checked through simulation. For the prototype development, final V-shaped best model is chosen. The proposed rotor shows the excellent performance in terms of reduced torque ripple and improved average torque in experimental results. The suggested design also has good thermal and mechanical performances with the capability to use in various industrial applications.

This chapter concerns energy storage technologies. It firstly outlines two popular storage technologies, batteries and supercapacitors, while their working principles are revealed. The key issues of these two technologies, such as costs, key types, capacities, etc., are also discussed. Afterwards, a hybrid electrical energy storage (HEES) system consisting of both technologies are demonstrated where the electrical circuit is illustrated. The design of the system aims to demonstrate different characteristics of these two technologies via their charging and discharging process. A test rig is explained in detail while other components, including a load bank, an inverter, a data acquisition subsystem (both the hardware and the software) are also clarified. The experimental results are illustrated and analyzed thereafter. Also, this chapter presents several other promising technologies where their key features, pros and cons, and core applications are pointedly reviewed. The concerned storage technologies include photovoltaic (PV) systems, pumped hydro-energy storage (PHES), superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), gas, and other alternatives sources. The authors provide the readers with a brief insight of various energy storage technologies and the inspiration of developing a low-cost, accessible energy storage system for the reader's own purposes.

In this exploratory study, eight types of microalgae from different phyla (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella species, Haematococcus pluvialis, Porphyridium purpureum, Porphyridium cruentum, Isochrysis species, Isochrysis galbana, and Pavlova lutheri) were tested for their antibacterial activities against eight target pathogenic bacterial strains. The agar well diffusion method and broth micro dilution assay were conducted to estimate the antibacterial activity. Microalgae cell-free supernatants, exopolysaccharides (EPS), water, and organic solvent extracts were used for inhibition analysis. EPS extracted from P. lutheri showed activity against Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Inhibition zone diameters of 14- 20 mm were recorded on agar plates, while the minimum inhibitory concentrations in the broth micro dilution assay were 0.39-25 mg ml-1. During this study, haptophyte microalgae, Isochrysis species, and P. lutheri extracts showed the highest activity against most of the tested pathogenic bacterial strains, while most of the extracts were active against the important foodborne pathogen P. aeruginosa. This study showed promising results regarding important microalgae phyla, which will further aid research related to extracts and exploitation of bioactive metabolic compounds in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

The adoption of natural energy sources has seen a phenomenal rise during recent decades. The reason is an improvement in their energy conversion capabilities, as well as simplification of their associated electronic control circuitry. The result at their use at a localized distributed generation level. This work is an attempt to understand and present the power quality impacts of wind and solar power generation at a localized system of distribution voltage level. The simulation is finalized in MATLAB/SIMULINK. Next a very popular solving these power quality problems namely, active power filter beside its shunt type is tested over the simulated model. Moreover, its control algorithm is implemented mathematically with P-Q theory and the results are analyzed for better power quality improvement.

Separately excited dc motors (SEDCM) are generally used in laboratory and industrial applications due to their high efficiency, performance response and high torque. An idea is proposed in this paper by applying the PI and Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) to control the speed of SEDCM. Simulink model with and without PI and FLC has been developed in Matlab to analyze the performance of dc motor. Based on simulation results it is said that control characteristics of FLC are better than the conventional PI controller. The modeling of SEDCM and execution of the controllers is carried out in MATLAB.

This paper presents 24-kW synchronous reluctance motor for close coupled centrifugal pump. The stator of the machine has 4-poles, 36 slots which are similar to an induction motor. The paper is focused on a new rotor design of the motor firstly by the finite element method (FEM). It is aimed to reduce power losses and torque ripples. The rotor is optimized with series of varying flux barrier width, flux carrier width, barrier edge angle and shaft diameter. The surrogate assisted technique has been applied while using a particle swarm optimization method in order to improve the performance of the motor. The simulation carried out at different designs and shapes and finally chosen the best 3 V-shaped flux barriers design for the prototype development. The simulation and experimental results show the excellent potential of the suggested optimal rotor design which can provide a good average torque with low ripples and can be right choice for the industrial applications. The main advantage is an increase of power with low power losses and good thermal performance.

This paper shows a research for enhancing the rays of sunlight towards solar panels by designing the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that works on the solar tracking control system. The mechanism of whole design keeps the solar panel in horizontal rotation in order to get maximum energy from the sun during the day. The mechanical assemble of prototype solar cell is manufactured to change the position of panel from 180 degree East to West. Also we used the electronic circuit, which has quality for sensing the sunlight as well as controlling the servo motor. The tracking system is operated by using the software Altera Quartus-II. The process is gone through the programming and loaded into Altera DE2 FPGA board and tested successfully in the laboratory. This system has more energy concentration and has more improvement factor rather than using fixed solar panel system.

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) with complex genetic architecture marked primarily by social and communication impairments along with deficits in restrictive and repetitive behaviors. Due to the complex nature and genetic heterogeneity of the disease, genotype and phenotype correlation remains challenging. Prior studies have implicated RALGAPB as a candidate gene for ASD, but stringent analysis is required to determine the pathogenicity. By targeted sequencing, we identified a new de novo RALGAPB missense variant (c.1238C > T; p. (Thr413Met) in an ASD family. By leveraging published large-scale genome sequencing studies, we curated five de novo likely gene-disrupting (LGD) variants and 5 de novo missense variants in ASD and related NDDs and revealed a genome-wide significant excess of RALGAPB de novo LGD variants (P_adjust = 0.0053). Quantitative reverse transcription PCR revealed that the frameshift variant c.1927dupA; p. N643fs*3 reduced mRNA expression levels confirming the loss-of-function effect. Co-expression analysis using human brain transcriptome data provide the potential functional link of RALGAPB and 38 ASD and/or NDD genes. Our study suggests RALGAPB as a new NDD risk gene which should be considered in clinical diagnosis of ASD and related NDDs.

The application of permanent magnet free motors have gained a huge attention for pure electric and hybrid electric vehicles. This paper proposed the design of 20-kW switched reluctance motor having 18 stator poles and 12 rotor poles by using finite element analysis machine design software Infolytica magnet and the main focus is to achieve the high speed, torque with adequate performance for electric vehicles. The asymmetric bridge converter has been used and the series of varying the excitation voltage, slot fill factor with respect to the number of turns and stranded area of the conductor has been analysed. Additionally, in order to the electromagnetic force vector, the switching sequence is examined. The simulation results show the great potential of the suggested motor and can provide a good starting torque with high speed and can be suitable to achieve the freedom Car 2020 electric vehicle target.

Renewable energy is the best solution and alternative to overcome the world growing energy demand and fossil fuels deficiency. Tidal energy is also renewable energy that uses barrage and tide height difference to extract energy. Kuching Barrage located in Sarawak was built to mitigate flood in the city of Kuching and has the potential for development into tidal power station. The purpose of this paper is to offer suitable tidal power plant system for tidal energy harnessing at Kuching Barrage. The study showed that Kuching Barrage has the potential for installation of tidal barrage power plant for tidal energy harnessing. If Kuching Barrage were to be used for tidal energy harnessing the tidal power plant would operate by ebb generation or during the barrage daily flushing operation. The tidal power plant scheme at Kuching Barrage would be a single basin and one-way operation. Additional powerhouse structure should be constructed if the tidal scheme were to be implemented. It was estimated that the powerhouse structure would be 56.21 m in measurement; 125 m in size and with the height of 35.51 m.

The efficiency of a photovoltaic (PV) system strongly depends on the transformation process from solar energy to electricity, where maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is widely regarded as a promising technology to harvest solar energy in the first step. Furthermore, inverters are an essential part of solar power generation systems. Their performance dictates the power yield, system costs and reliable operation. This paper proposes a novel control technology combining discontinuous pulse width modulation (DPWM) and overmodulation technology to better utilize direct current (DC) electrical power and to reduce the switching losses in the electronic power devices in conversion. In order to optimize the performance of the PV inverter, the overmodulation region is refined from conventional two-level space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) control technology. Then, the turn-on and turn-off times of the switching devices in different modulation areas are deduced analytically. A new DPWM algorithm is proposed to achieve the full region control. An experimental platform based on a digital signal processing (DSP) controller is developed for validation purposes, after maximum power is achieved via a DC/DC converter under MPPT operation. Experimental results on a PV system show that the DPWM control algorithm lowers the harmonic distortion of the output voltage and current, as well as the switching losses. Moreover, better utilization of the DC-link voltage also improves the PV inverter performance. The developed algorithm may also be applied to other applications utilizing grid-tie power inverters.

The purpose of current study is to explore the volatility linkages between four Asian equity markets, which arePakistan (Karachi Stock Exchange), India (Bombay Stock Exchange), Hong Kong (Hang Sang Index) and Singapore (Strait Time Index). We estimate Multivariate GARCH BEKK model using weekly returns from January 2000 to August 2011.Direct evidences of linkages are found among all markets with respect to conditional mean returns and volatility.Own volatility spillover is found greater than cross volatility spillover in all emerging and developed economies.The insinuation of this study is that overseas investors may take advantage from the decrease of uncertainty by accumulating the stocks in the emerging markets to their investment portfolio.

This study examines the relationship between the exchange rates and the export sectors of Pakistan. The objective is to study the empirical relationship between the exchange rates and the export sectors. The analysis was conducted on the sectorally segregated monthly data of the exports from July 2003 to April 2010 with nominal exchange rates. The empirical estimation has been resorted to detect both the effects of the nominal exchange rates and the respective volatility of the exchange rates on the export sectors. For the estimation of the long run relationship cointegration and an autoregressive time series regression models are used while generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic methodology has been used to estimate the effects of the exchange rates volatility on export sectors. The results of cointegration and ordinary least square revealed a significant longrun relationship between exchange rates and export sectors, which confirmed that the depreciating currency in case of Pakistan improves the competitiveness of the export sectors, while there is an evidence of volatility effects on the export sectors

A traffic model based on the road surface conditions during adverse weather is presented. The surface of a road is affected by snow, compacted snow, and ice, which affects the traffic behavior. In this paper, a new macroscopic traffic flow model based on the transition velocity distribution is proposed which characterizes traffic alignment under adverse weather conditions. Two examples are considered to illustrate the effect of the transition velocity behavior on traffic velocity and density. Simulation results are presented which show that this model provides a more accurate characterization of traffic flow behavior than the well known Whitham–Payne model. The proposed model can be used to reduce accidents and improve road safety during adverse weather conditions.

Purpose: In the developing country like Pakistan the agency problem may have different dimensions as it may not only be among the ownership and the management but also regarding the expropriation of the corporate profits by the largest shareholder at the cost of the many small shareholders. This paper examines the relationship between the Ownership Structure with its two dimensions i.e. Ownership Type and Concentration with the Corporate Governance adaptation level by the firms and its Financial Performance and Risk Taking Behavior judged by the Stock Market Returns. Methodology: The analysis was conducted in three sections using Panel Data Estimation using the data from 2006 to 2010 for 40 listed KSE firms. Findings: The results indicates that the improvement in the Corporate Practices increase the firm’s financial performance and reduction in the level of risk during undertaking of the riskier ventures. The Corporate Governance also has negative relationship with the Ownership Concentration proving the fact that the increase in the level of the ownership concentration results in the reduction of the level of good practices by the firms. Practical Implications: These results also provided a view of the Corporate Structure of the Pakistani firms and prove the fact that the Ownership Concentrated in single largest owner results in the reduction of Corporate Governance level and the Financial Performance of the firms and also results in the increase in the level of the risk undertaken by the firms.