Potable water is one of the essential requirements of human be ings. Similarly, proper sanitation... more Potable water is one of the essential requirements of human be ings. Similarly, proper sanitation arrangements are essential for the clean environments which are essential for good health. This study is based on a sample survey conducted in three randomly selected villages of district P eshawar. The aims of the study were to asses the availability and utilization of potable water and sanitatio n facilities. And also to identify the factors hindering in t he proper utilization of these facilities in the rural are as. For this purpose 160 respondents (20 % of the total households) were randomly contacted in the study area. The stud y finds that more than 50% of the population was generally using open well water. This water was of inferi or quality; however, people had to use it because they di d not have access to public sector water. The rest of the community received water from tubewells in the public sector. This water was of good quality; however, its availa bility was generally n...
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with coagulopathy (CAC) and venous ... more Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with coagulopathy (CAC) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). These are well-reported complications of COVID-19 infection. Earlier publications have shown that CAC and thromboembolism are predictors of mortality among COVID-19 patients with severe disease. Material and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where all confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled and followed until death or ICU discharge. CAC, VTE, along with all comorbidities, were recorded. Predictors of mortality were determined by univariate and multivariate regression. Results: Among 261 patients with COVID-19, 48.3% survived and 51.7% died. CAC was present in 53.2% and 76.3% of the survivors and non-survivors, respectively (p<0.001); 89 patients (31.4%) had VTE (p=0.36) and 11 patients (4.2%) had arterial thrombosis (p=0.76) among survivors and nonsurvivors. Age between 71-80 years (p=0.009), male gender (p=0.045), CAC...
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2018
This work introduces a novel thermal integration scheme for a pressure-swing distillation train u... more This work introduces a novel thermal integration scheme for a pressure-swing distillation train used to separate a mixture of methanol/benzene/acetonitrile. This mixture typically forms three azeotropes as shown through developing its residue curve map with two distillation boundaries at atmospheric pressure. This ternary mixture is traditionally separated via a triple column pressureswing distillation (TCPSD) scheme, in which, all columns operate at different pressures. Here, the first two columns of the TCPSD are proposed to be replaced by a single column having a dividing wall that allows heat transfer through it. Thus, the resulting scheme is called pressureswing dividing wall column (PSDWC). Aiming to improve its performance, further advancement is subsequently made by developing the heat intensified PSDWC (HiPSDWC) and vapor recompressed PSDWC (VRPSDWC). The performance of these proposed schemes is evaluated in the context of energy saving and total annual cost (TAC). Among these configurations, it is investigated that the VRPSDWC secures the best performance, providing a 75.67% savings in external energy consumption, which is 2.45 times that of the HiPSDWC. The attractiveness of the best performing VRPSDWC is further quantified by a 13.25% TAC savings and a reasonably short payback time of 2.97 yr (3.91 yr with considering penalty of 10%).
This work aims at investigating the performance improvement of a dividing wall column (DWC) for t... more This work aims at investigating the performance improvement of a dividing wall column (DWC) for the separation of a ternary system. It is true that for fractionating a ternary mixture, at least a sequence of two conventional distillation columns is required. To improve energetic and economic potential, and reduce space requirement, two columns are proposed to merge into one shell with a dividing wall. For developing the mathematical model of a distillation column, we consider the effect of heat transfer through the metal wall placed at an intermediated position inside the cylindrical column. The simulated DWC model is verified using the Aspen Plus flowsheet simulator with a wide variety of phase equilibrium models. The superiority of this proposed heat integrated configuration is shown for a ternary hydrocarbon system over a conventional distillation sequence (CDS) in terms of mainly three performance indexes, namely thermal efficiency, energy savings and total annual cost (TAC). It is investigated that the dividing wall distillation scheme can secure a 37.5% energy efficiency, and a 22.6% savings in energy consumption and 23.23% in TAC. The promising performance can also be quantified in terms of a reasonably low payback period of 2.11 years.
JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 1996
This retrospective study audited all the extrahepatic biliary operations performed through a subc... more This retrospective study audited all the extrahepatic biliary operations performed through a subcostal muscle splitting incision between January, 1979 and June, 1995. Of the 400 patients subjected to biliary surgery 340 (85%) were females and 60 (15%) males. One hundred and eighty (45%) patients presented with symptoms of acute and 220 (55%) with chronic cholecystitis. Most (95%) of the operations were performed electively. Simple cholecystectomy was performed in 320 (80%) patients and 72 (18%) had common bile duct exploration for stones. Of these 67 had choledochoduodenostomy and 5 a polythene tube drainage of common bile duct. The overall morbidity of the procedure was 13.5% of which 3.5% were procedure related complications and 10.0% general complications. Only two deaths occured during the study giving a mortality of 0.5%. This technique has greatly reduced the hospital stay, the amount of blood loss during operation and post operative pain. No patient had incisional hernia or w...
2000 IEEE Power Engineering Society Winter Meeting. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.00CH37077)
The paper describes how travelling waves measured at one end of a transmission line can be used f... more The paper describes how travelling waves measured at one end of a transmission line can be used for fault location. The algorithm indicates which phases are involved in the fault and uses auto-correlation on the recorded faulted phase to give an initial estimate of the fault position. A fault at this position and involving the indicated phases is then applied to an EMTP simulator that models the power network in the region around the fault locator. The transient components in the current signals generated by the simulator, and measured at the same location as the fault locator, is then cross-correlated against the signals captured on the actual power network. A high level of correlation, as indicated by a high positive value for the cross-correlation function, indicates that the simulated fault position is the actual fault position. Results obtained using data recorded on the Scottish Power 275 and 400 kV network are shown to be very similar to those obtained using a double-ended GPS synchronised travelling wave fault locator
2011 Record of Conference Papers Industry Applications Society 58th Annual IEEE Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference (PCIC), 2011
Arcing faults are rare events, but they often lead to severe injuries. From the economic point of... more Arcing faults are rare events, but they often lead to severe injuries. From the economic point of view, the consequences due to direct and indirect costs can be extremely high. There are various options to prevent arcing faults, but faults cannot be totally eliminated. This is why several approaches to mitigate the consequences of arcing faults have been introduced. Several manufacturers have started to produce arc flash protection relays based on optical detection of light energy from an arc. In most applications, the light information is confirmed by overcurrent information before a trip command is initiated to an upstream current breaking device. The tripping of a circuit breaker, for instance, occurs in only a few milliseconds. This seems to be the state-of-the-art technology, leading in most cases to very reasonable incident energy levels. However, it is essential to be able to minimize not only the thermal impact but the pressure wave as well. This paper investigates technology aimed at maximal protection.
7th International Conference on Developments in Power Systems Protection (DPSP 2001), 2001
ABSTRACT The paper describes how the high frequency travelling waves caused by a fault on a trans... more ABSTRACT The paper describes how the high frequency travelling waves caused by a fault on a transmission line can be observed in the secondary of a conventional protection current transformer. Information extracted from the secondary currents, measured at one location, is used to determine the phases involved in the fault and its location. The validity of the proposed single ended fault location technique is assessed by comparing the fault location decision obtained when analysing the current signals captured by a high frequency disturbance recorder with the actual location of the fault. The actual location was determined using information from a double-ended GPS synchronised travelling wave fault locator and, if available, information from a maintenance crew
This paper addresses the problem of steering a swarm of autonomous agents out of an unknown maze ... more This paper addresses the problem of steering a swarm of autonomous agents out of an unknown maze to some goal located at an unknown location. This is particularly the case in situations where no direct communication between the agents is possible and all information exchange between agents has to occur indirectly through information "deposited" in the environment. To address this task, an -greedy, collaborative reinforcement learning method using only local information exchanges is introduced in this paper to balance exploitation and exploration in the unknown maze and to optimize the ability of the swarm to exit from the maze. The learning and routing algorithm given here provides a mechanism for storing data needed to represent the collaborative utility function based on the experiences of previous agents visiting a node that results in routing decisions that improve with time. Two theorems show the theoretical soundness of the proposed learning method and illustrate the importance of the stored information in improving decision-making for routing. Simulation examples show that the introduced simple rules of learning from past experience significantly improve performance over random search and search based on Ant Colony Optimization, a metaheuristic algorithm.
2005 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies
Page 1. Real Time Object Tracking Using BMA Zeeshan Hameed Khan1,, Muhammad Aurangzeb Center for ... more Page 1. Real Time Object Tracking Using BMA Zeeshan Hameed Khan1,, Muhammad Aurangzeb Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering, Islamabad, Pakistan engrzeeeyahoo.com' Abstract-This paper describes real time ...
This paper presents a method of Q-learning to solve the discounted linear quadratic regulator (LQ... more This paper presents a method of Q-learning to solve the discounted linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem for continuous-time (CT) continuous-state systems. Most available methods in the existing literature for CT systems to solve the LQR problem generally need partial or complete knowledge of the system dynamics. Q-learning is effective for unknown dynamical systems, but has generally been well understood only for discrete-time systems. The contribution of this paper is to present a Q-learning methodology for CT systems which solves the LQR problem without having any knowledge of the system dynamics. A natural and rigorous justified parameterization of the Q-function is given in terms of the state, the control input, and its derivatives. This parameterization allows the implementation of an online Q-learning algorithm for CT systems. The simulation results supporting the theoretical development are also presented.
A number of branch prediction schemes have been proposed in literature. In order to improve the p... more A number of branch prediction schemes have been proposed in literature. In order to improve the prediction probability, all of them address the problem of accurate branch prediction in various ways. In this paper we have proposed a predictor which can accurately predict a branch which is once registered with it.
Diabetes reaches its peak incidence during the 5th decade of life, the time when the frequency of... more Diabetes reaches its peak incidence during the 5th decade of life, the time when the frequency of surgery is also greatest in the general population. Diabetic patients have an estimated 50% chance of undergoing surgery during their life time, and for them the risks ...
analyse the outcome of patients diagnosed to have pancreatic cancer in clinical practice in North... more analyse the outcome of patients diagnosed to have pancreatic cancer in clinical practice in North London. Methods In this duel centre retrospective study, a years worth of pancreatic cancer diagnoses was compiled using the North London Cancer Network Multidisciplinary team meeting data base. The patients records were then searched gathering information on their dates of diagnosis; referral to our hepatobiliary surgeons at a local tertiary referral centre; whether they had a pre-operative stent; the date of their surgery (if they survived long enough to have it) and they're ultimate outcome. Results 68 patients within our sector received a diagnosis (histological/endoscopic/radiological) of pancreatic cancer over the course of 1 year (May 2010eMay 2011). Of this cohort 20 (29.4%) were referred for surgical opinion. During the lag between diagnosis and surgical review, 9 (45%) patients received endoscopic biliary drainage and stent insertion (all were 1st pass). The total number to ultimately receive their Whipple's was 5 (25%). In four patients in whom surgery was felt to be an option, aggressive disease and complications leading to a lengthy in patient stay at the point of diagnosis meant that the physical condition of the patient had deteriorated to the point where they were no longer fit for surgery/ inoperable. Only one patient proceeded straight to operation without prior stenting. Two patients had their operations privately. Unfortunately details of any post operative complications are not available. Conclusion Our experiences of pancreatic cancer is that at the point of diagnosis most cancers were inoperable 48 of 68 (70%). Within our study period only 5 of 68 (7%) patients had surgery for pancreatic cancer. The majority of patients even when initially considered for surgery (75%) do not end up having a resection. When patients are referred with symptoms of obstructive jaundice, knowing that the majority will not undergo surgery and also knowing in clinical practice that it is difficult to get surgical resection within 10 days of diagnosis, the humane thing to do instinctively is to stent and achieve biliary drainage. Achieving biliary drainage helps in improving the patients symptom profile and additionally allows chemotherapeutic options in those whose jaundice resolves.
Agriculture is the single largest sector of Pakistan's economy. More than 50% of the labour force... more Agriculture is the single largest sector of Pakistan's economy. More than 50% of the labour force is absorbed by this sector. The manual labour requirements vary from crop to crop. The present study finds the effect of farm machinery on labour requirements for the wheat crop in the NWFP of Pakistan. Wheat is the major cereal food item in Pakistan. In terms of area allocation, wheat is the single largest crop of the country. Wheat also serves as a raw material for many manufacturing units. The study highlights that wheat is grown on large area in the Province. The field data (Rabi, 2004) of the research area (District Peshawar) revealed that for the cultivation of the crop both mechanized and traditional methods of farming were practiced. The Cobb-Douglas production function was used for the parameters' estimation. The sum of income elasticities of each of the farming system was less than one and so there is a tangible scope for improvement by applying the inputs optimally. The Marginal Physical Product of labour and machinery were higher on mechanized farms. The study explored that labour requirements/ha. of the mechanized farms for the crop were 75.5 man-days as against 357.4 man-days for traditional farms. The mechanized farms used both machinery and labour for the cultivation of the wheat crop whereas the traditional farms mainly depended on labour and animal power and use machinery only for thresher purposes. A unit use of machinery reduced the labour requirements by over 3 times. The prices of inputs showed an inverse relation with labour requirements. Both the output and animal power had a positive effect on labour requirements.
Maize is one of the major staple food items in the NWFP. The crop is also utilized as a fodder fo... more Maize is one of the major staple food items in the NWFP. The crop is also utilized as a fodder for animals and as a raw material by manufacturing units. For the cultivation of the crop both mechanized and traditional methods are used. For the present study 200 respondents (130 mechanized and 70 traditional) were randomly selected. The field data (2004, Kharif) of Peshawar District showed significant differences in inputs use and output at the mechanized and traditional farms. At both the mechanized and traditional farms the benefit cost ratio of small farms size was higher than that of the large farms. Similarly the ratio of tenant farms was higher than that of the owner farms. Yield per hectare of the mechanized farms was 27.66 % higher than that of the traditional farms. The benefit cost ratio of mechanized farms was higher (26.6 %) than that of the traditional farms. This means that mechanized farms have enhanced their income and also benefit cost ratio by using agricultural machinery.
Potable water is one of the essential requirements of human be ings. Similarly, proper sanitation... more Potable water is one of the essential requirements of human be ings. Similarly, proper sanitation arrangements are essential for the clean environments which are essential for good health. This study is based on a sample survey conducted in three randomly selected villages of district P eshawar. The aims of the study were to asses the availability and utilization of potable water and sanitatio n facilities. And also to identify the factors hindering in t he proper utilization of these facilities in the rural are as. For this purpose 160 respondents (20 % of the total households) were randomly contacted in the study area. The stud y finds that more than 50% of the population was generally using open well water. This water was of inferi or quality; however, people had to use it because they di d not have access to public sector water. The rest of the community received water from tubewells in the public sector. This water was of good quality; however, its availa bility was generally n...
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with coagulopathy (CAC) and venous ... more Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with coagulopathy (CAC) and venous thromboembolism (VTE). These are well-reported complications of COVID-19 infection. Earlier publications have shown that CAC and thromboembolism are predictors of mortality among COVID-19 patients with severe disease. Material and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where all confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled and followed until death or ICU discharge. CAC, VTE, along with all comorbidities, were recorded. Predictors of mortality were determined by univariate and multivariate regression. Results: Among 261 patients with COVID-19, 48.3% survived and 51.7% died. CAC was present in 53.2% and 76.3% of the survivors and non-survivors, respectively (p<0.001); 89 patients (31.4%) had VTE (p=0.36) and 11 patients (4.2%) had arterial thrombosis (p=0.76) among survivors and nonsurvivors. Age between 71-80 years (p=0.009), male gender (p=0.045), CAC...
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2018
This work introduces a novel thermal integration scheme for a pressure-swing distillation train u... more This work introduces a novel thermal integration scheme for a pressure-swing distillation train used to separate a mixture of methanol/benzene/acetonitrile. This mixture typically forms three azeotropes as shown through developing its residue curve map with two distillation boundaries at atmospheric pressure. This ternary mixture is traditionally separated via a triple column pressureswing distillation (TCPSD) scheme, in which, all columns operate at different pressures. Here, the first two columns of the TCPSD are proposed to be replaced by a single column having a dividing wall that allows heat transfer through it. Thus, the resulting scheme is called pressureswing dividing wall column (PSDWC). Aiming to improve its performance, further advancement is subsequently made by developing the heat intensified PSDWC (HiPSDWC) and vapor recompressed PSDWC (VRPSDWC). The performance of these proposed schemes is evaluated in the context of energy saving and total annual cost (TAC). Among these configurations, it is investigated that the VRPSDWC secures the best performance, providing a 75.67% savings in external energy consumption, which is 2.45 times that of the HiPSDWC. The attractiveness of the best performing VRPSDWC is further quantified by a 13.25% TAC savings and a reasonably short payback time of 2.97 yr (3.91 yr with considering penalty of 10%).
This work aims at investigating the performance improvement of a dividing wall column (DWC) for t... more This work aims at investigating the performance improvement of a dividing wall column (DWC) for the separation of a ternary system. It is true that for fractionating a ternary mixture, at least a sequence of two conventional distillation columns is required. To improve energetic and economic potential, and reduce space requirement, two columns are proposed to merge into one shell with a dividing wall. For developing the mathematical model of a distillation column, we consider the effect of heat transfer through the metal wall placed at an intermediated position inside the cylindrical column. The simulated DWC model is verified using the Aspen Plus flowsheet simulator with a wide variety of phase equilibrium models. The superiority of this proposed heat integrated configuration is shown for a ternary hydrocarbon system over a conventional distillation sequence (CDS) in terms of mainly three performance indexes, namely thermal efficiency, energy savings and total annual cost (TAC). It is investigated that the dividing wall distillation scheme can secure a 37.5% energy efficiency, and a 22.6% savings in energy consumption and 23.23% in TAC. The promising performance can also be quantified in terms of a reasonably low payback period of 2.11 years.
JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 1996
This retrospective study audited all the extrahepatic biliary operations performed through a subc... more This retrospective study audited all the extrahepatic biliary operations performed through a subcostal muscle splitting incision between January, 1979 and June, 1995. Of the 400 patients subjected to biliary surgery 340 (85%) were females and 60 (15%) males. One hundred and eighty (45%) patients presented with symptoms of acute and 220 (55%) with chronic cholecystitis. Most (95%) of the operations were performed electively. Simple cholecystectomy was performed in 320 (80%) patients and 72 (18%) had common bile duct exploration for stones. Of these 67 had choledochoduodenostomy and 5 a polythene tube drainage of common bile duct. The overall morbidity of the procedure was 13.5% of which 3.5% were procedure related complications and 10.0% general complications. Only two deaths occured during the study giving a mortality of 0.5%. This technique has greatly reduced the hospital stay, the amount of blood loss during operation and post operative pain. No patient had incisional hernia or w...
2000 IEEE Power Engineering Society Winter Meeting. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No.00CH37077)
The paper describes how travelling waves measured at one end of a transmission line can be used f... more The paper describes how travelling waves measured at one end of a transmission line can be used for fault location. The algorithm indicates which phases are involved in the fault and uses auto-correlation on the recorded faulted phase to give an initial estimate of the fault position. A fault at this position and involving the indicated phases is then applied to an EMTP simulator that models the power network in the region around the fault locator. The transient components in the current signals generated by the simulator, and measured at the same location as the fault locator, is then cross-correlated against the signals captured on the actual power network. A high level of correlation, as indicated by a high positive value for the cross-correlation function, indicates that the simulated fault position is the actual fault position. Results obtained using data recorded on the Scottish Power 275 and 400 kV network are shown to be very similar to those obtained using a double-ended GPS synchronised travelling wave fault locator
2011 Record of Conference Papers Industry Applications Society 58th Annual IEEE Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference (PCIC), 2011
Arcing faults are rare events, but they often lead to severe injuries. From the economic point of... more Arcing faults are rare events, but they often lead to severe injuries. From the economic point of view, the consequences due to direct and indirect costs can be extremely high. There are various options to prevent arcing faults, but faults cannot be totally eliminated. This is why several approaches to mitigate the consequences of arcing faults have been introduced. Several manufacturers have started to produce arc flash protection relays based on optical detection of light energy from an arc. In most applications, the light information is confirmed by overcurrent information before a trip command is initiated to an upstream current breaking device. The tripping of a circuit breaker, for instance, occurs in only a few milliseconds. This seems to be the state-of-the-art technology, leading in most cases to very reasonable incident energy levels. However, it is essential to be able to minimize not only the thermal impact but the pressure wave as well. This paper investigates technology aimed at maximal protection.
7th International Conference on Developments in Power Systems Protection (DPSP 2001), 2001
ABSTRACT The paper describes how the high frequency travelling waves caused by a fault on a trans... more ABSTRACT The paper describes how the high frequency travelling waves caused by a fault on a transmission line can be observed in the secondary of a conventional protection current transformer. Information extracted from the secondary currents, measured at one location, is used to determine the phases involved in the fault and its location. The validity of the proposed single ended fault location technique is assessed by comparing the fault location decision obtained when analysing the current signals captured by a high frequency disturbance recorder with the actual location of the fault. The actual location was determined using information from a double-ended GPS synchronised travelling wave fault locator and, if available, information from a maintenance crew
This paper addresses the problem of steering a swarm of autonomous agents out of an unknown maze ... more This paper addresses the problem of steering a swarm of autonomous agents out of an unknown maze to some goal located at an unknown location. This is particularly the case in situations where no direct communication between the agents is possible and all information exchange between agents has to occur indirectly through information "deposited" in the environment. To address this task, an -greedy, collaborative reinforcement learning method using only local information exchanges is introduced in this paper to balance exploitation and exploration in the unknown maze and to optimize the ability of the swarm to exit from the maze. The learning and routing algorithm given here provides a mechanism for storing data needed to represent the collaborative utility function based on the experiences of previous agents visiting a node that results in routing decisions that improve with time. Two theorems show the theoretical soundness of the proposed learning method and illustrate the importance of the stored information in improving decision-making for routing. Simulation examples show that the introduced simple rules of learning from past experience significantly improve performance over random search and search based on Ant Colony Optimization, a metaheuristic algorithm.
2005 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies
Page 1. Real Time Object Tracking Using BMA Zeeshan Hameed Khan1,, Muhammad Aurangzeb Center for ... more Page 1. Real Time Object Tracking Using BMA Zeeshan Hameed Khan1,, Muhammad Aurangzeb Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering, Islamabad, Pakistan engrzeeeyahoo.com' Abstract-This paper describes real time ...
This paper presents a method of Q-learning to solve the discounted linear quadratic regulator (LQ... more This paper presents a method of Q-learning to solve the discounted linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem for continuous-time (CT) continuous-state systems. Most available methods in the existing literature for CT systems to solve the LQR problem generally need partial or complete knowledge of the system dynamics. Q-learning is effective for unknown dynamical systems, but has generally been well understood only for discrete-time systems. The contribution of this paper is to present a Q-learning methodology for CT systems which solves the LQR problem without having any knowledge of the system dynamics. A natural and rigorous justified parameterization of the Q-function is given in terms of the state, the control input, and its derivatives. This parameterization allows the implementation of an online Q-learning algorithm for CT systems. The simulation results supporting the theoretical development are also presented.
A number of branch prediction schemes have been proposed in literature. In order to improve the p... more A number of branch prediction schemes have been proposed in literature. In order to improve the prediction probability, all of them address the problem of accurate branch prediction in various ways. In this paper we have proposed a predictor which can accurately predict a branch which is once registered with it.
Diabetes reaches its peak incidence during the 5th decade of life, the time when the frequency of... more Diabetes reaches its peak incidence during the 5th decade of life, the time when the frequency of surgery is also greatest in the general population. Diabetic patients have an estimated 50% chance of undergoing surgery during their life time, and for them the risks ...
analyse the outcome of patients diagnosed to have pancreatic cancer in clinical practice in North... more analyse the outcome of patients diagnosed to have pancreatic cancer in clinical practice in North London. Methods In this duel centre retrospective study, a years worth of pancreatic cancer diagnoses was compiled using the North London Cancer Network Multidisciplinary team meeting data base. The patients records were then searched gathering information on their dates of diagnosis; referral to our hepatobiliary surgeons at a local tertiary referral centre; whether they had a pre-operative stent; the date of their surgery (if they survived long enough to have it) and they're ultimate outcome. Results 68 patients within our sector received a diagnosis (histological/endoscopic/radiological) of pancreatic cancer over the course of 1 year (May 2010eMay 2011). Of this cohort 20 (29.4%) were referred for surgical opinion. During the lag between diagnosis and surgical review, 9 (45%) patients received endoscopic biliary drainage and stent insertion (all were 1st pass). The total number to ultimately receive their Whipple's was 5 (25%). In four patients in whom surgery was felt to be an option, aggressive disease and complications leading to a lengthy in patient stay at the point of diagnosis meant that the physical condition of the patient had deteriorated to the point where they were no longer fit for surgery/ inoperable. Only one patient proceeded straight to operation without prior stenting. Two patients had their operations privately. Unfortunately details of any post operative complications are not available. Conclusion Our experiences of pancreatic cancer is that at the point of diagnosis most cancers were inoperable 48 of 68 (70%). Within our study period only 5 of 68 (7%) patients had surgery for pancreatic cancer. The majority of patients even when initially considered for surgery (75%) do not end up having a resection. When patients are referred with symptoms of obstructive jaundice, knowing that the majority will not undergo surgery and also knowing in clinical practice that it is difficult to get surgical resection within 10 days of diagnosis, the humane thing to do instinctively is to stent and achieve biliary drainage. Achieving biliary drainage helps in improving the patients symptom profile and additionally allows chemotherapeutic options in those whose jaundice resolves.
Agriculture is the single largest sector of Pakistan's economy. More than 50% of the labour force... more Agriculture is the single largest sector of Pakistan's economy. More than 50% of the labour force is absorbed by this sector. The manual labour requirements vary from crop to crop. The present study finds the effect of farm machinery on labour requirements for the wheat crop in the NWFP of Pakistan. Wheat is the major cereal food item in Pakistan. In terms of area allocation, wheat is the single largest crop of the country. Wheat also serves as a raw material for many manufacturing units. The study highlights that wheat is grown on large area in the Province. The field data (Rabi, 2004) of the research area (District Peshawar) revealed that for the cultivation of the crop both mechanized and traditional methods of farming were practiced. The Cobb-Douglas production function was used for the parameters' estimation. The sum of income elasticities of each of the farming system was less than one and so there is a tangible scope for improvement by applying the inputs optimally. The Marginal Physical Product of labour and machinery were higher on mechanized farms. The study explored that labour requirements/ha. of the mechanized farms for the crop were 75.5 man-days as against 357.4 man-days for traditional farms. The mechanized farms used both machinery and labour for the cultivation of the wheat crop whereas the traditional farms mainly depended on labour and animal power and use machinery only for thresher purposes. A unit use of machinery reduced the labour requirements by over 3 times. The prices of inputs showed an inverse relation with labour requirements. Both the output and animal power had a positive effect on labour requirements.
Maize is one of the major staple food items in the NWFP. The crop is also utilized as a fodder fo... more Maize is one of the major staple food items in the NWFP. The crop is also utilized as a fodder for animals and as a raw material by manufacturing units. For the cultivation of the crop both mechanized and traditional methods are used. For the present study 200 respondents (130 mechanized and 70 traditional) were randomly selected. The field data (2004, Kharif) of Peshawar District showed significant differences in inputs use and output at the mechanized and traditional farms. At both the mechanized and traditional farms the benefit cost ratio of small farms size was higher than that of the large farms. Similarly the ratio of tenant farms was higher than that of the owner farms. Yield per hectare of the mechanized farms was 27.66 % higher than that of the traditional farms. The benefit cost ratio of mechanized farms was higher (26.6 %) than that of the traditional farms. This means that mechanized farms have enhanced their income and also benefit cost ratio by using agricultural machinery.
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Papers by M. Aurangzeb