Asad Mehmood - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Asad Mehmood

PLOS ONE, 2021

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the ongoing pandemic with multitude of manife... more Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the ongoing pandemic with multitude of manifestations and association of ABO blood group in South-East Asian population needs to be explored. Methods It was a retrospective study of patients with COVID-19. Blood group A, B, O, and AB were identified in every participant, irrespective of their RH type and allotted groups 1, 2,3, and 4, respectively. Correlation between blood group and lab parameters was presented as histogram distributed among the four groups. Multivariate regression and logistic regression were used for inferential statistics. Results The cohort included 1067 patients: 521 (48.8%) participants had blood group O as the prevalent blood type. Overall, 10.6% COVID-19-related mortality was observed at our center. Mortality was 13.9% in blood group A, 9.5% in group B, 10% in group C, and 10.2% in AB blood group (p = 0.412). IL-6 was elevated in blood group A (median [IQR]: 23.6 [17.5,43.8]), Procalcitonin in blood group ...

Background and ObjectiveCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) manifests as multiple clinical and pa... more Background and ObjectiveCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) manifests as multiple clinical and pathological organ dysfunctions. It also disrupts metabolic profile due to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines causing a systemic inflammation reaction. However, the development and correlation of dyslipidemia with acute phase reactants is unknown. This investigation was performed to assess the pathological alterations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides, and total cholesterol levels in COVID-19 patients.MethodsThis was a prospective study performed on real-world patients to assess serum levels of LDL-C, HDL, TG, TC on COVID-19 patients (mild: 319; moderate: 391; critical: 357) hospitalized at our center between April 2020 through January 2021. Age- and gender-matched controls who had their lipid profiles in the same period were included as the control group.ResultsLDL-C, HDL, TG, and TC levels were significantly lower in COVI...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of financial determinants on firm growth. ... more The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of financial determinants on firm growth. The impact of financial determinants: profitability, leverage, innovation and leverage on firm growth are studied. Firm size and firm age are also included to investigate how such variables effect firm growth. Data was collected for a sample of 373 non-financial companies listed at Karachi Stock Exchange for a period of six years from 2006 to 2011. Fixed effect model for panel data was applied for analysis and results. The results of this research show that financial determinants of profitability, leverage and innovation have a positive and significant impact on firm growth in Pakistani context. Firm size also have a significant positive effect. However, there is negative relationship of firm age on firm growth. Liquidity has a positive relationship with growth, yet its impact was non-significant. More comprehensive, detailed and extended analysis in future studies will definitely be hel...

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2021

Nitrogen-doped porous carbons containing atomically dispersed iron are prime candidates for subst... more Nitrogen-doped porous carbons containing atomically dispersed iron are prime candidates for substituting platinum-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells. These carbon catalysts are classically synthesizedviacomplicated routes involving multiple heat-treatment steps to form the desired Fe-Nx sites. We herein developed a highly active FeNC catalyst comprising of exclusive Fe-Nx sites by a simplified solid-state synthesis protocol involving only a single heat-treatment. Imidazole is pyrolyzed in the presence of an inorganic salt-melt resulting in highly porous carbon sheets decorated with abundant Fe-Nx centers, which yielded a high density of electrochemically accessible active sites (1.36 × 1019 sites g-1) as determined by the in situ nitrite stripping technique. The optimized catalyst delivered a remarkable ORR activity with a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.905 VRHE in alkaline electrolyte surpassing the benchmark Pt catalyst by 55 mV. In acidic electrolyte, an E1/2 of 0.760 VRHE is achieved at a low loading level (0.29 mg cm-2). In PEMFC tests, a current density of 2.3 mA cm-2 is achieved at 0.90 ViR-free under H2-O2 conditions, reflecting high kinetic activity of the optimized catalyst.

2021 IEEE International Conference on Environment and Electrical Engineering and 2021 IEEE Industrial and Commercial Power Systems Europe (EEEIC / I&CPS Europe), 2021

Residential and commercial customers are the major energy consumers in the world and their consum... more Residential and commercial customers are the major energy consumers in the world and their consumption is constantly increasing. Effective demand-side management (DSM) schemes are developed to control the consumption of consumers through appliance load monitoring (ALM). ALM can be done through smart sensors or plugs, but due to their high cost, load disaggregation techniques are gaining more popularity. In this paper, a hybrid adaptive-neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) has been developed for load monitoring. In the proposed technique, event detection is used to detect load activation events. Then a fine tree classifier is used for the classification of target appliances. Moreover, energy consumed by the target appliances is also estimated. The technique is applied to the publicly available UK Domestic Appliance-Level Electricity UK-DALE) dataset for validation purposes and the results are compared with the existing literature.

Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2021

We show that gaseous nitric oxide(NO) and oxygen(O2) are useful molecular probes for Fe-NC cataly... more We show that gaseous nitric oxide(NO) and oxygen(O2) are useful molecular probes for Fe-NC catalysts. We examine using gaseous NO in a temperature programmed desorption experiment with using it in an electrochemical experiment. Gas phase O2 adsorption is almost exclusively desorbed as CO2, and continued exposure to oxygen increases the amount of chemisorbed oxygen. The oxidation state of the carbon surface is an important activity determining factor, and under normal "electrochemical" conditions many of the active sites are blocked. Treatment at 600 o C in Ar can free those sites for oxygen adsorption. However, under atmospheric storage, and especially during the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the surface quickly becomes deactivated with chemisorbed oxygen species and water. We demonstrate that Fe-NC can be super-activated by reductive electrochemical treatment, both in an electrochemical cell and in a fuel cell. The energy gained following the treatment is significantly larger than the energetic cost.

IEEE Access, 2021

HIV is still a global epidemic more than 40 years after it was described initially, impacting mai... more HIV is still a global epidemic more than 40 years after it was described initially, impacting mainly Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. HIV is an RNA retrovirus that wreaks havoc on the immune system, making the infected individual vulnerable to opportunistic pathologies. For the diagnosis and therapy of infected patients, several models have been proposed in literature. The main goal of this paper is to present an innovative mathematical model for diagnosing and treating this pandemic based on a unique flexible fuzzy-like structure called the Complex Fuzzy Hypersoft (CFHS) set, which is a glued structure of complex fuzzy (CF) set and hypersoft sets (an extension of soft set). To address ambiguity and unclear data, the basic theory of CFHS set is created, which examines the amplitude term (A-term) and phase term (P-term) of complex numbers concurrently. In two aspects, this new fuzzy-like hybrid theory is adaptable. First, extending membership function values to the unit circle on an Argand plane and including an extra term, the P-term, to suit the recurring character of data that provide access to a wide range of membership function values. Second, it categorises the different attributes into matching disjoint attribute-valued sets for a more straightforward interpretation; it's tough to identify which HIV is and how serious it is after looking at the HIV side effects. To deal with such problems, the CFHS set, and CFHS-mapping with its inverse mapping is utilised. These concepts are practical and required for adequately assessing the situation using mathematical modelling. This investigation shows a relationship between symptoms and medications, making the story easier to follow. A table is constructed for the HIV kinds based on a fuzzy interval of [0, 1]. The calculation is based on CFHS-mapping, which correctly diagnoses the condition and prescribes the best medicine. A generalised CFHS-mapping is also offered, which can assist a specialist in extracting the patient's improvement record and estimating how long it will take to eradicate the infection. INDEX TERMS HIV, hypersoft (HS) set, complex numbers (C-numbers), complex fuzzy hypersoft (CFHS), mapping, inverse mapping.

Energy & Environmental Science, 2020

Establishing new reactivity map descriptor of TOF–SD for PGM-free Fe–N–C catalysts ORR activity.

Applied Surface Science, 2021

Abstract In this study, iron carbide (Fe3C) particles were encapsulated in graphitic carbon shell... more Abstract In this study, iron carbide (Fe3C) particles were encapsulated in graphitic carbon shells by a facile carbonation process. These core-shell carbides, in which iron carbide is encapsulated in graphene-like layer (Fe3C@C) and nitrogen doped graphene-like layer (Fe3C@C–N) were investigated as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts to investigate the effect of the carbon shell on catalyst activity and stability. Due to the protective effect of the graphitic carbon shells, the performance of Fe3C@C and Fe3C@C–N were considerably better than the bare Fe3C nanoparticles. The OER activity of Fe3C@C–N is comparable with that of carbon-supported ruthenium oxide (RuO2/C), and this core-shell carbide has a remarkable stability and high turnover frequency under alkaline conditions. To elucidate the real active sites of these core-shell carbides, the role of the Fe3C core, Fe–Nx active sites, and effect of nitrogen doping in the shell were investigated in detail.

International Journal of Emerging Markets, 2020

PurposeThe authors examine the impact of credit, liquidity and operational risks on the financial... more PurposeThe authors examine the impact of credit, liquidity and operational risks on the financial performance of commercial banks of South Asia.Design/methodology/approachData are extracted from DataStream of 76 commercial banks of four countries, i.e. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for the period 2009–2018. The generalized method of moments (GMM) is used to analyze the results.FindingsAll three risks are significantly associated with financial performance. The authors find that Z-score positively affects the bank performance, whereas the nonperforming loans (NPLs) ratio has a negative impact on financial performance of bank. Liquidity risk analyses show the current and loan-to-deposit (LTD) ratios positively and negatively, respectively, affect financial performance. While operational risk positively affects financial performance. The authors further present the significant effects of joint occurrence of credit and liquidity risks on financial performance.Practical impli...

Optics Communications, 2020

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Sustainability, 2020

Environmental sustainability is a major concern of contemporary societies, businesses, and govern... more Environmental sustainability is a major concern of contemporary societies, businesses, and governments. However, there is a lack of knowledge as to how countries can achieve the goal to end poverty, whilst protecting the planet. It is the objective of our study to examine the moderating role of institutional quality on the financial development and environmental quality nexus in South Asia. Our sample consists of panel data of five South Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan) from 1984 to 2018. We find that financial development increases CO2 emissions in this region, implying that countries in South Asia have utilized financial development for capitalization, instead of improving production technology. Institutional quality moderates the negative impact of financial development on environmental sustainability. An implication of our findings is that efforts to improve institutional quality may help to promote sustainable development in South Asia.

Finance Research Letters, 2020

Abstract This paper examines the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the r... more Abstract This paper examines the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the relationship between culture, religiosity and firm performance. It collects data through a questionnaire answered by 189 Pakistani corporate managers. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approach was conducted to validate the instrument and Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to test a framework comprising seven hypotheses. The results indicate that the effects arising from the association between religiosity, culture and firm performance are enhanced by the mediating impacts of CSR. It provides new insights on CSR literature by incorporating the religious and cultural orientations of corporate managers.

ECS Meeting Abstracts, 2015

There are steady interests in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) as a clean energy technology for... more There are steady interests in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) as a clean energy technology for powering small and portable electronic devices because of several merits of DMFC systems such as high energy density, flexibility in power output from sub-watt to several hundred watts, and reliable operation, etc. Over the last decade, a number of worldwide efforts have been reported for improving the performance and durability of DMFCs. One of the key issues in DMFC systems is the methanol circulating unit that is required to reuse the exhaust methanol solution from DMFC stacks. Recirculation of the used methanol is accomplished by adjusting the concentration of the exhaust methanol solution to a pre-set level at a fuel mixing tank. In this fuel recirculation unit, electronic sensors are generally used to monitor and control the methanol concentration. However, the sensors are generally recognized to have many problems in terms of cost, size, durability and reliability. In order to so...

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2018

A taurine biomolecule performs as an efficient organic additive for the positive electrolyte of a... more A taurine biomolecule performs as an efficient organic additive for the positive electrolyte of a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB).

Scientific Reports, 2017

We report the feasibility of using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as a cost-effective and high perf... more We report the feasibility of using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as a cost-effective and high performance cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Graphene oxide is synthesized by a modified Hummers' method and reduced using a solid-state microwave irradiation method. The RGO electrode delivers an exceptionally stable discharge capacity of 240 mAh g −1 with a stable long cycling up to 1000 cycles. A discharge capacity of 134 mAh g −1 is obtained at a high current density of 600 mA g −1 , and the electrode recovers a capacity of 230 mAh g −1 when the current density is reset to 15 mA g −1 after deep cycling, thus demonstrating the excellent stability of the electrode with sodium de/intercalation. The successful use of the RGO electrode demonstrated in this study is expected to facilitate the emergence of low-cost and sustainable carbon-based materials for SIB cathode applications.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2016

Abstract In this study, we demonstrate how the formulation of colloidal catalyst ink and fabricat... more Abstract In this study, we demonstrate how the formulation of colloidal catalyst ink and fabrication conditions affect the cathode microstructure of catalyst coated membranes (CCMs) prepared via decal technique. The CCMs based on conventional and high concentration cathode inks are compared in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). It is found that the cathode catalyst layer made with a high concentration ink possesses superior porosity, leading to an improved DMFC performance. The temperature of roll-press used for preparing CCM is varied ranging from 170 to 210 °C in order to determine the optimal fabrication conditions for high concentration ink-based cathode. The CCM hot-pressed at 200 °C (advanced CCM) retains a significantly higher pore volume and outperforms the conventional CCM by delivering an excellent DMFC performance with a maximum power density of 155 mW cm−2, which is 20% higher than that of the conventional CCM.

Energy, 2016

This study proposes a novel method for controlling the methanol concentration without using metha... more This study proposes a novel method for controlling the methanol concentration without using methanol sensors for DMFC (direct methanol fuel cell) systems that have a recycling methanol-feed loop. This method utilizes the amplitudes of output voltage fluctuations of DMFC as a feedback parameter to control the methanol concentration. The relationship between the methanol concentrations and the amplitudes of output voltage fluctuations is correlated under various operating conditions and, based on the experimental correlations, an algorithm to control the methanol concentration with no sensor is established. Feasibility tests of the algorithm have been conducted under various operating conditions including varying ambient temperature with a 200 W-class DMFC system. It is demonstrated that the sensor-less controller is able to control the methanol-feed concentration precisely and to run the DMFC systems more energy-efficiently as compared with other control systems.

Global Journal of Human Social Science Research, Apr 17, 2014

The aim of this paper is to analyze stereotype construction of gender roles in the text of childr... more The aim of this paper is to analyze stereotype construction of gender roles in the text of children's stories which inculcate in the children's crude minds socially developed gender differences. For this purpose, the study followed Dell Hymes speaking model. This model has sixteen components that can be applied to different types of Discourse (speech interaction): message form; message content; setting; scene; Speaker/sender; address or; the hearer/receiver/audience; addressee; purposes (outcomes); purposes (goals); key; channels; forms of speech; norms of interaction; norms of interpretation; and genres. Selected children's stories were analyzed to identify their role as primary thought developing sources in the mind of young learners thus shaping their gender identities. This study would be beneficial in drawing the attention of authors, editors and writers of children's literature to redefine gender roles in order to minimize gender differences.