Volume 4

ABSTRACT: The Internet is a significant source of textual data, with users generating vast amounts of information through social media and news agencies daily. The extraction of meaningful information from large datasets is a challenging and costly process. Text pre-processing is a crucial initial step in any Natural Language Processing (NLP) task, as it can impact the overall performance of the study. The main objective of text pre-processing is to transform unstructured text into a linguistically meaningful (standard form) format, making extracting information for any text-processing task easier. This paper introduces TPTS, a model for text pre-processing in the Sindhi language. TPTS performs essential NLP tasks such as text tokenization, normalization, stop-word removal, stemming, and POS tagging for the Sindhi language. The Sindhi Text Corpus (STC), consisting of 1.5k Sindhi text documents collected from various online news websites, is used for experimentation. The TF-IDF approach is employed to identify high-frequency stop-words in the Sindhi language.

Furthermore, a rule-based system tags words with their part of speech in Sindhi input text. The ROUGE evaluation metric is used to assess the effectiveness of the proposed TPTS technique, achieving 89% accuracy on the STC corpus. The Sindhi language is spoken by over 30 million people globally, and the lack of adequate NLP tools and resources limits the development of technology and natural language applications that can benefit Sindhi speakers. The proposed TPTS model can aid in developing such applications, making it beneficial not only for text pre-processing tasks but also for other Sindhi language text-processing tasks such as text summarization, sentiment analysis, speech-processing applications, text mining, and information retrieval systems.

ABSTRACT: The Pd (Photodetachment) of a hydrogen molecular negative ions near a soft reflecting wall is being investigated theoretically, focusing on the differential and total Pd.CS (Photodetachment Cross Section) when the laser polarisation is along the molecular axis of the ion. Quantum interference becomes evident on the observable plane when the two components of the electron wave superimpose at a considerable distance and propagate outward. The investigation of these interferences contributes to improving our understanding of the structure of diatomic molecular negative ions. Wall-induced fluctuations are observed in the detached electron spectra. As the distance between the ion and wall (R) increases, the wall effect diminishes, and the results approach those of the Ions in free space, the oscillation amplitude in the Pd.CS decreases, and their frequency increases as both Walls (R) and the distance between the two opposing ion centers (d) increase. The oscillations eventually cease to exist, and the CS (cross-section) exhibits uniform behavior at tremendous values of R and  resulting in the match to the Ions in free space.

ABSTRACT: Tuberculosis (TB) an opportunistic disease still remains a major cause of death globally after COVID-19 pandemic and HIV. Enhanced microbial resistance to therapeutic drugs has paved way to introducing new vaccines for prophylactic control of the disease. Timely diagnosis of TB is also highly needed for effective treatment. Therefore, a fast reliable diagnostic method with high sensitivity is need of the day. In our study, CFP10 and ESAT-6 antigens were cloned, expressed, and purified individually and as a chimeric construct in Escherichia coli BL21. Epitopic analysis revealed that the CFP10-ESAT-6 (CEP) chimeric construct may be more sensitive than the individual sensitivities of CFP10 and ESAT-6. Moreover, molecular analysis of secondary structure and 3-D modelling of each construct also validated that CEP may prove a better immunodiagnostic tool in addition to previously reported EC skin test.

ABSTRACT: Credit card fraud encompasses illicit activities aimed at unlawfully obtaining confidential information to enable unauthorized individuals to engage in illegal transactions. As technology advances, fraudsters have honed their skills in evading security measures, presenting a formidable challenge in fraud detection. To address this issue, an array of algorithms and analytical techniques has emerged to identify and mitigate instances of fraud. This research aimed to identify the most appropriate supervised machine learning algorithm for credit card fraud detection. Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and Decision Trees were implemented and compared. Due to the imbalanced nature of the dataset, the SMOTE (Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique) technique was employed to rectify the data imbalance by oversampling the minority class. The performance of the trained models was evaluated using various metrics, including the confusion matrix, accuracy, precision, recall, f1-score, Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC), and Area Under the Curve (AUC). The results of the analysis revealed that Random Forests exhibited exceptional performance, achieving an impressive recall score of 84% and surpassing other algorithms. This research provides the groundwork for future investigations involving diverse deep-learning techniques applied to real-time and dynamic datasets, enabling continuous enhancements in fraud detection and prevention mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Lahore is facing different environmental issues, including air pollution. The present study was conducted to measure the level of different air pollutants in the ambient air of Lahore city. Six ambient air pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO, NO₂, SO_2, and O₃) were measured with the standard method. Different instruments were used for measuring target pollutants. These instruments include CO analyzer, NOx analyzer, SO₂ analyzer, ozone analyzer and BAM analyzer. Results were compared with Punjab Environmental Quality Standards (PEQS). The level of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) was found as 55.99 μg/m³, higher than PEQS i.e. 15μg/m³. The mean concentration of course particulate matter throughout the year was found as 105.08 μg/m^3, which was lower than PEQS i.e. 120 μg/m³. The mean level of NO was 54.56 μg/m^3, which was higher than the PEQS (40 μg/m³). The annual average level of SO₂ was 23.56μg /m^3, which is lower than PEQS (80μg /m³). Higher levels of air pollutants can cause health issues among the city’s residents. Regular monitoring and necessary mitigation measures should be implemented to control the level of pollutants in the city.

ABSTRACT: We must understand hormonal pathways to solve the global problem of overweight children and adolescents. This study examines the relationship between thyroid hormone levels and body weight in Rawalpindi boys, where childhood obesity/BMI is more prevalent. Thyroid function and body weight have been linked in a few studies. In this case-control study, we recruited 166 boys (both normal and Obese) aged 5-15 from hospitals in District Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Heparinized syringes collected 1.5 ml antecubital blood samples from each subject. Blood plasma was immediately centrifuged following standard procedures and frozen at -20 °C. ELISA measured T3, T4, and TSH levels. A family history of Obesity or other endocrine or chronic diseases disqualified participants. Overweight boys had lower tri-iodothyronine (T3) levels than normal-weight boys (p<0.05). Ordinary boys’ T3 levels rose from 5 to 10 years old. Overweight boys had lower T3 levels than normal-weight 9–15-year-olds (p<0.05). From 5 to 7, 9 to 11, and 15 years old, overweight boys had lower tetra iodothyronine (T4) levels than normal-weight males (p<0.05). Chubby boys had higher TSH levels at 9, 11, and 13–15 than normal-weight males (p<0.05). TSH correlated positively with body weight, while T3 and T4 correlated negatively. TSH linked with BMI, while T3 and T4 did not. This profile may explain overweight etiology. These findings can inform future research and interventions to address this serious public health concern in Rawalpindi and beyond.

ABSTRACT: A smart city is an amalgamation of various task-oriented systems and technologies that strive to evolve and adapt according to the needs of the city and its infrastructure. These systems aim to provide citizens with efficient services, tackle urban challenges through data-driven analytical means, and minimize the need for human intervention. One technology that can assist in achieving these goals is Blockchain. Blockchain’s decentralization of assets can simplify costly and
time-consuming processes, minimize expenses, and enhance transparency, security, and data integration. However, being a relatively new technology, Blockchain faces regulatory hurdles which can be attributed to incomplete knowledge of infrastructure by governing organizations. This lack of understanding often leads to confusion while comprehending different infrastructure elements, hindering problem-solving efforts. In this paper, we analyze different sectors of smart cities and their challenges in Pakistan. We also examine the existing parameters to establish the smart city and their way of upgrading infrastructure technology.

ABSTRACT: Microstrip antennas possess a compact form factor, exhibit a low profile, and demonstrate a lightweight nature, thereby enabling their suitability for deployment on both planar and non-planar surfaces. When the framework is installed, it requires a comparatively small amount of space. The production of printed circuits has become a facile and inexpensive process owing to advancements in contemporary technology. Antennas with a low profile are often required owing to space, weight, cost, performance, simplicity of installation, and aerodynamic profile in powerful planes, spaceships, satellites, and rocket operations. Many other applications, not only mobile radio and wireless communications, have comparable requirements. Microstrip antennas are a useful tool for accomplishing this goal. A proposal has been put forth to utilize a patch antenna for 5G cellular connectivity at 28 GHz, with the aim of generating robust beams on the azimuthal plane. The antenna proposed in this study exhibits a radiation efficiency of 93.46 percent and a total efficiency of 92.80 percent, as demonstrated through simulations. This study showcases the feasibility of producing millimeter-wave antennas operating at 28 GHz through the utilization of cost-effective additive manufacturing techniques. The simulation of all outcomes is conducted through the utilization of the CST Microwave Studio.

ABSTRACT: Freshwater resources are precipitation and ice nucleation, which are vulnerable in environmental density with increasing human population and anthropogenic inclined indulgence, leading to the threat of complete disappearance of ice cover. Regarding global prospects, the Himalayas have grave significance regarding ice resources, and Pakistan’s dependency upon fresh water from ice covers is more than 70%. Investigation of ice nucleation in the central Himalayas and Skardu regions in Pakistan indicates that abiotic factors like pH and temperature and biotic factors like bacterial presence in sediments or soil, ice meltwater, stream water and plants play a vital role in ice nucleation. Vegetation is the best habitat for bacteria with movement of 50 to 500 culturable cells/m²/sec (Suzuki et al. 1993, Morris et al. 2004 and Goodnow et al. 1990). Application of Vali’s formulation c(T)= {ln (No) – ln (No -N(T))}/A for ice nucleation per bacterial cell shows biotic factors are more significant than abiotic factors. Trees like Cedrus deodara (Roxb.ex D. Don) (common name Diar) family name is Pinaceae showed the most significant tendency among the studied variables for ice nucleation, with ln c(T)= -14.84 as compared to Pinus roxburghii Sargent (botanical name) Chir (common name) Pinaceae (family name) ln c(T) = -15.9. Ice nucleation per cell (ln c(T)) in ice meltwater, stream water and sediment were -16, -15 and -15.14, respectively. P.H.PH range was near to neutral value (7) with the highest 8.4 in deposits and the lowest 7-making range of 1.4. The lowest mean monthly temperature in January from 2000 to 2022 is -12.6 ^oC (2013), while the warmest mean low temperature is -6.2 ^oC (2022), as per PMD. These temperature ranges are ideal for heterogeneous ice nucleation, as 50% of drops were frozen in the sample taken from the plants at a temperature of -10 °C. In comparison, stream water showed 35% frozen drops in this study. The research methodology following bacterial tests (H₂S and Gram tests) and evaluation of abiotic factors like pH, temperature, wind direction indicates more impactful are biotic factors and low temperature for heterogenous ice nucleation.