Job search website for illiterate users of Pakistan

Illiteracy is a major hurdle in socio-economic development of Pakistan. Research in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can help in tackling this issue by developing solutions tailored for illiterate population. The work presented within this paper proposes a job search website for illiterate population of KPK province of Pakistan. The designed website does not require any human assistance while searching a job. Moreover, the website uses culturally relevant graphical and audio content. The usability of the website is tested according to the ISO-9241-11 specification. Furthermore, we have studied the effect of the participants’ characteristics, i.e., their age, computer and mobile usage experience on the usability of the website. The results show that the participants found the website usable. Specifically, they could search suitable jobs with a minimal number of clicks and in less time as compared to the usual task completion rates reported throughout the literature. None of the participants’ characteristics were found to be affecting the usability of the website. These results suggest a promising potential of ICT solutions for providing services to illiterate population of Pakistan.     

Mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid carbon fibre–phenolic matrix composites containing graphene nanoplatelets and graphite powder

Carbon fibre–phenolic matrix (CF–P) composites containing graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were manufactured for improved mechanical and thermal properties. For comparison, micrometer-size pyrolytic graphite powder (GP) was also incorporated in CF–P composites. The loading of carbon fibres was kept constant at 60?wt-% while the quantity of GNPs was varied from 0.1?wt-% to 0.3?wt-% and GP from 1.0?wt-% to 3.0?wt-%. Only GNPs were functionalised by ultraviolet-ozone treatment to improve their dispersion in the matrix while all the composites were manufactured by hand layup method and characterised by scanning electron microscopy, impact, flexural, thermogravimetry and ablation tests. The composite containing 0.3?wt-% GNPs showed considerable improvement in ablation, flexural and impact testing as compared to CF-P composites containing GP. Finally, the ablation mechanisms of post-ablated composites were discussed in the light of available data in the literature.     

Modeling of Effective Thermal Conductivity of Dunite Rocks as a Function of Temperature

The thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and heat capacity per unit volume of dunite rocks taken from Chillas near Gilgit, Pakistan, have been measured simultaneously using the transient plane source technique. The temperature dependence of the thermal transport properties was studied in the temperature range from 303 K to 483 K. Different relations for the estimation of the thermal conductivity are applied. A proposed model for the prediction of the thermal conductivity as a function of temperature is also given. It is observed that the values of the effective thermal conductivity predicted by the proposed model are in agreement with the experimental thermal conductivity data within 9%.     

Camel milk protein hydrolysates with improved technofunctional properties and enhanced antioxidant potential in in vitro and in food model systems

Camel milk protein hydrolysates (CMPH) were generated using proteolytic enzymes, such as alcalase, bromelain, and papain, to explore the effect on the technofunctional properties and antioxidant potential under in vitro and in real food model systems. Characterization of the CMPH via degree of hydrolysis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE, and HPLC revealed that different proteins in camel milk underwent degradation at different degrees after enzymatic hydrolysis using 3 different enzymes for 2, 4, and 6 h, with papain displaying the highest degradation. Technofunctional properties, such as emulsifying activity index, surface hydrophobicity, and protein solubility, were higher in CMPH than unhydrolyzed camel milk proteins. However, the water and fat absorption capacity were lower in CMPH compared with unhydrolyzed camel milk proteins. Antioxidant properties as assessed by 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities and metal-chelating activity were enhanced after hydrolysis, in contrast to ferric-reducing antioxidant power which showed a decrease after hydrolysis. The CMPH were also tested in real food model systems for their potential to inhibit lipid peroxidation in fish mince and grape seed oil-in-water emulsion, and we found that papain-produced hydrolysate displayed higher inhibition than alcalase- and bromelain-produced hydrolysates. Therefore, the CMPH demonstrated effective antioxidant potential in vitro as well as in real food systems and showed enhanced functional properties, which guarantees their potential applications in functional foods. The present study is one of few reports available on CMPH being explored in vitro as well as in real food model systems.     

Pt nanoparticles sputter-deposited on TiO2/MWCNT composites prepared by atomic layer deposition: Improved electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction and durability in acid media

Acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were decorated with TiO₂ using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique followed by uniform distribution of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) through magnetron sputtering. Surface analyses were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical decontamination and characterization of the Pt-TiO₂/MWCNT electrodes were carried out by CO stripping followed by cyclic voltammetry in acid media. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was studied in O₂-saturated 0.05 M H₂SO₄ solution using the rotating disk electrode (RDE) method. Durability of the prepared catalysts was examined by repetitive potential cycling. Electrochemical data obtained was analyzed and compared to that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. It was revealed that the Pt-TiO₂/MWCNT catalysts possess higher ORR activity and better durability as compared to that of the commercial Pt/C.     

An interval-parameter two-stage stochastic integer programming model for environmental systems planning under uncertainty

An interval-parameter two-stage stochastic mixed integer programming (ITMILP) technique is developed for waste management under uncertainty. It is a hybrid of inexact two-stage stochastic programming and mixed integer linear programming methods. The ITMILP method can directly handle uncertainties expressed not only as probability density functions but also as discrete intervals. It can be used to analyse various policy scenarios that are associated with different levels of economic penalties when the promised policy targets are violated. More importantly, it can facilitate dynamic analysis of decisions on capacity expansion planning within a multi-region, multi-facility, multi-period, and multi-option context. The results will help to generate a range of decision alternatives under various system conditions, and thus offer insight into the trade-offs between environmental and economic objectives. The ITMILP method is applied to planning facility expansion and waste flow allocation within a waste management system. The results indicate that reasonable solutions have been generated for both binary and continuous variables. The binary-variable solutions represent the decisions of facility expansion, while the continuous-variable solutions are related to decisions on waste flow allocation.