Muhammad Hussnain - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Muhammad Hussnain

Meanwhile, ultrasound remained presented by way of indicative instrument in obstetrics in additio... more Meanwhile, ultrasound remained presented by way of indicative instrument in obstetrics in addition gynecology through Professor Ian Donald 7 eras previously, real-time imaging has become maximum known sonographic procedure experienced in obstetrics also gynecology. Once undefined results on real-period gray scale throughout 2-dimensional sonography need additional assessment, progressive procedures remain frequently essential. Alike progressive procedures comprise color also power Doppler, 3- also 4-dimensional ultrasound in addition procedures of volume handling (interpretation), just like shallow in addition, supreme manner, magic cut, capacity control, NICHE resources, and -as newest invention, HD movement (Doppler) also HD lifetime superficial translation. The researchers would love to demonstrate through resources of the sequences of pictures also patient exhibitions, how those novel indicative apparatuses discover its medical submission in everyday repetitive of maintenance in obstetrics also gynecology. Key Words: 3D ultrasound, 4D ultrasound, Capacity interpreting, HD movement, HD lifetime.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 28, 2023

This study aims to investigate the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), energy u... more This study aims to investigate the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), energy usage, and carbon emissions in the BRICS countries. The research has hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between FDI and carbon emissions, as well as between energy usage and carbon emissions. Additionally, the research has also hypothesized that FDI moderates the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, while energy usage moderates the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth. The data has been collected using online databases readily available within the required period of time. The dependent variable in this research was carbon emission while the independent variables were FDI and energy usage. Nevertheless, some other variables, such as GDP and population, were also factored in the analysis to increase the effectiveness of the study. The research has employed quantitative data analysis method to analyze the research hypothesis. Using correlation and multiple regression analysis, it was found that both FDI and energy usage have a positive relationship with carbon emissions. However, there was not enough evidence to suggest that FDI and energy usage significantly moderate the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth in the BRICS countries. These findings have important implications for policymakers as we as future researchers in the BRICS countries who seek to balance economic growth with sustainable development.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 16, 2023

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a phrase that promotes business awareness over the whole terri... more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a phrase that promotes business awareness over the whole territory of the parent nation. Given that (FDI) aids recipient nations in developing and establishing better circumstances, it is confusing. Pakistan falls behind in enhancing mechanical organization as an agrarian economy. Small and mediumsized businesses, particularly those in the material management industry, significantly impact Pakistan's economy. Unusual steps like (FDI) and industry respect expansion are needed for an immense-scope economy to continue. Rich countries' careful planning for upgrades and the overall reduction of CO2 emissions have done more harm than good. The predicted relationship between a few signs of common contamination and per-capita income is represented by the natural Kuznets curve (EKC). It is possible to trace the rise in per capita income to (FDI) and modern advancement. Supporters of globalization consider it advantageous for the underprivileged, while critics point out its unforeseen adverse effects. The development of the financial system benefits from foreign direct investment (FDI). This situation will assist countries in acquiring outstanding inventions for the creation process and enhancing it further by taking advantage of the effects of the combination. Because they collaborate with other countries to get less polluting industrial processes, countries with tight environmental regulations incur somewhat higher creation costs. Since Pakistan is also attractive to international investors, a study is being done to examine the impacts of (FDI) on CO2 outflow.

Out of South Asian countries, Pakistan is experiencing the fastest urbanization rate where more t... more Out of South Asian countries, Pakistan is experiencing the fastest urbanization rate where more than half of the population will reside in urban areas after next seven years. Such a rapid transformation in urban areas calls for an extraordinary response from spatial planning agencies. Handling of complex urban phenomena with precision and time efficiency has created the dire need for shifting from manual planning processes to computer-assisted planning approaches. Although, previous studies on spatial planning practices in Pakistan have highlighted the stages and processes where adoption of planning support systems (PSS) can help improve the planning outcomes. However, the use of geospatial technologies and PSS have been quite limited in adoption and undertake by the planning profession. With the advent of Smart Cities renewed awareness and support of data driven approach and tools such as PSS have assisted in bridging this utilization gap. To improve the adoption of PSS in spatial ...

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 2021

Urban visual pollution is increasingly affecting the built-up areas of the rapidly urbanizing pla... more Urban visual pollution is increasingly affecting the built-up areas of the rapidly urbanizing planet. Outdoor advertisements are the key visual pollution objects affecting the visual pollution index and revenue generation potential of a place. Current practices of uninformed and uncontrolled outdoor advertising (especially billboards) impairs effective control of visual pollution in developing countries. Improving this can result in over 20% reduction of visual pollution. This article presents a spatial decision support system (SDSS) to facilitate all the stakeholders (development control authorities, advertisers, billboard owners, and the public) in balancing the optimal positioning of billboards under the governing regulations. In terms of its technical implementation, SDSS is based on well-known geospatial open source technologies and uses an analytical hierarchy process AHP-inspired approach in spatial decision-making. It can help users through its category-specific user interfa...

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 2020

In an era of smart cities and digitalisation, there has been a noticeable increase in the develop... more In an era of smart cities and digitalisation, there has been a noticeable increase in the development and application of planning support systems (PSS). However, a significant challenge in the broader adoption of these PSS can be attributed to the user experience, which includes the efforts required in pre-processing data. It has been observed that typically 80% of the PSS usage time goes into pre-processing, cleaning, and loading data—a significant barrier for new users. This research focuses on improving user experience by developing and evaluating a new workflow tool called EasyUAZ. This workflow tool directly supports the iterative data preparation needs of scenario planning with the Online WhatIf?—a widely used PSS to develop land-use suitability, demand and land-allocation scenarios. A comparative evaluation has been conducted to quantify the time taken for data preparation with ArcGIS, QGIS, and the EasyUAZ. The study found that EasyUAZ offers a time saving of 30%–35% when co...

Sustainability, 2020

Since 2007, more than fifty percent of our planet’s population is living in urban areas. In the c... more Since 2007, more than fifty percent of our planet’s population is living in urban areas. In the coming decade, the rate of urbanization will be fastest in Asia and Africa. Within South Asian countries, urbanization has attained its fastest pace in Pakistan. Urban planners and agencies in Pakistan have tried various spatial plan making solutions to manage urban areas, but none have given the desired results. After a 20% increase in declared urban areas within last two decades, urban planners and policy makers are looking for a more innovative and realistic spatial planning solution, which could adjust to the uncertainties and complexities of real world. This research uses a mixed method approach comprising a two phased survey of professional planners, analyzed through the selective lexicon approach to document planners’ opinions about the reasons behind the poor performance and conformance of spatial plans. This study documents the planners’ understanding of the contemporary concept ...

The Academic Research Community publication, 2019

Urban surroundings and spaces are losing their identity due to the flooded visual pollution in th... more Urban surroundings and spaces are losing their identity due to the flooded visual pollution in the urban panorama of already densely populated cities in developing countries. Quantitative assessment of visual pollution and its spatial mapping; both are very recent and relatively un-explored branches of urban studies. The diversity of visual pollution objects (VPOs) and their traits, the subjectivity of observers, the scale of urban space and dependency on subjective variables has been key challenges for quantification during visual pollution assessment. The researcher has previously developed a paper-based score-card type visual pollution assessment (VPA) tool using Analytical Hierarchy Process (under publication) to address these issues. However, considering the challenges associated with the deployment of paper-based tool for VPA (inability to handle variety of data types i.e. text, numeric, geolocation, images etc.), the natural progression has been the development of a mobile-ba...

Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 2020

As cities grow, the continued development pressure and land-use change of peri-urban areas pose a... more As cities grow, the continued development pressure and land-use change of peri-urban areas pose a key challenge for urban planners to address. In the planning of peri-urban areas, the complexity of intertwining physical, environmental, transportation, social and institutional planning dimensions, rapidness of change, demand for precision, and subjectivity of the situations; application of digital planning tools (GIS, PSS and similar) offers a result-oriented and at times the only way out for realistic planning. Like many other countries, peri-urban growth in Pakistan is being managed by the preparation of Peri-Urban Structure Plans (PUSPs). Since, 2009, such plans have been prepared for 36 urban centres of various scale which offer a considerable size to explore the usage pattern of digital planning tools in real-world practice and learn the lessons. Despite wider development and adoption of geographic information systems (GIS) based planning support system (PSS) in spatial planning all over the world, the utilization of digital planning tools in Pakistan to support planning practise has been very limited. This research adopts a case study-based methodology to review the legal requirements of peri-urban plan-making and highlight tasks where digital planning tools can add value. It investigates why there is a paucity of up taking digital planning tools in the spatial plan preparation and documents key stumbling factors. To understand the user's perspective, a survey of (n = 108) urban planners has been undertaken using an online questionnaire. The survey assesses their understanding of the terms and their perception behind the current utilization level of digital planning tools for plan preparation. The analysis reveals a very low familiarity of urban planners with digital planning tools, particularly planning support systems, in Pakistan which is aligned with the findings from technologically advanced countries. The causes behind low utilization have been documented and grouped under three dimensions, adopted from previous research including 'user acceptance', 'instrument quality' and 'diffusion'. Finally, the paper concludes by proposing a framework for bridging the utilization gap to improve spatial planning practice.

All Days, 2019

Formation damage associated with water blockage is a common problem in oil/gas producing wells. W... more Formation damage associated with water blockage is a common problem in oil/gas producing wells. Water blockage is a damage mechanism which occurs when water saturation increases near wellbore, resulting in reduced hydrocarbon saturation and relative permeability to gas. When pore spaces around the well get nearly saturated with water, it reduces gas saturation to near irreducible level that block the gas flow. It decreases the gas production and may recover naturally by extended flow back or excessive drawdown. However, in depleted reservoirs, gas production may completely be lost and shall require chemical treatment. In this paper, a case study has been presented illustrating the complete loss of production of a gas well owing to the water blockage and the treatment mechanism to restore the production (SPE 102383). Well ‘A’ was drilled in Sindh, Pakistan in 2010 in Lower Goru Formation. Later, the well was put on compression and was found on natural decline. By Feb 2019, well was p...

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2016

Unmanaged placement, size, location, structure and contents of outdoor advertisement boards have ... more Unmanaged placement, size, location, structure and contents of outdoor advertisement boards have resulted in severe urban visual pollution and deterioration of the socio-physical living environment in urban centres of Pakistan. As per the regulatory instruments, the approval decision for a new advertisement installation is supposed to be based on the locational density of existing boards and their proximity or remoteness to certain land- uses. In cities, where regulatory tools for the control of advertisement boards exist, responsible authorities are handicapped in effective implementation due to the absence of geospatial analysis capacity. This study presents the development of a spatial decision support system (SDSS) for regularization of advertisement boards in terms of their location and placement. The knowledge module of the proposed SDSS is based on provisions and restrictions prescribed in regulatory documents. While the user interface allows visualization and scenario evaluation to understand if the new board will affect existing linear density on a particular road and if it violates any buffer restrictions around a particular land use. Technically the structure of the proposed SDSS is a web-based solution which includes open geospatial tools such as OpenGeo Suite, GeoExt, PostgreSQL, and PHP. It uses three key data sets including road network, locations of existing billboards and building parcels with land use information to perform the analysis. Locational suitability has been calculated using pairwise comparison through analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and weighted linear combination (WLC). Our results indicate that open geospatial tools can be helpful in developing an SDSS which can assist solving space related iterative decision challenges on outdoor advertisements. Employing such a system will result in effective implementation of regulations resulting in visual harmony and aesthetic improvement in urban communities.

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2016

Out of 182 million population of Pakistan, 38% reside in urban areas having an average growth rat... more Out of 182 million population of Pakistan, 38% reside in urban areas having an average growth rate of 1.6%, raising the urban housing demand significantly. Poor state response to fulfil the housing needs has resulted in a mushroom growth of private housing schemes (PHS) over the years. Consequently, only in five major cities of Punjab, there are 383 legal and 150 illegal private housing development projects against 120 public sector housing schemes. A major factor behind the cancerous growth of unapproved PHS is the prolonged and delayed approval process in concerned approval authorities requiring 13 months on average. Currently, manual and paper-based approaches are used for vetting and for granting the permission which is highly subjective and non-transparent. This study aims to design a flexible planning support system (PSS) to optimize the vetting process of PHS projects under any development authority in Pakistan by reducing time and cost required for site and documents investigations. Relying on the review of regulatory documents and interviews with professional planners and land developers, this study describes the structure of a PSS developed using opensource geo-spatial tools such as OpenGeo Suite, PHP, and PostgreSQL. It highlights the development of a Knowledge Module (based on regulatory documents) containing equations related to scheme type, size (area), location, access road, components of layout plan, planning standards and other related approval checks. Furthermore, it presents the architecture of the database module and system data requirements categorized as base datasets (built-in part of PSS) and input datasets (related to the housing project under approval). It is practically demonstrated that developing a customized PSS to optimize PHS approval process in Pakistan is achievable with geospatial technology. With the provision of such a system, the approval process for private housing schemes not only becomes quicker and user-friendly but also transparent.

Sustainability, 2019

With increasing focus on more nuanced aspects of quality of life, the phenomenon of urban visual ... more With increasing focus on more nuanced aspects of quality of life, the phenomenon of urban visual pollution has been progressively gaining attention from researchers and policy makers, especially in the developed world. However, the subjectivity and complexity of assessing visual pollution in urban settings remain a challenge, especially given the lack of robust and reliable methods for quantification of visual pollution. This paper presents a novel systematic approach for the development of a robust Visual Pollution Assessment (VPA) tool. A key feature of our methodology is explicit and systematic incorporation of expert and public opinion for listing and ranking Visual Pollution Objects (VPOs). Moreover, our methodology deploys established empirical complex decision-making techniques to address the challenge of subjectivity in weighting the impact of individual VPOs. The resultant VPA tool uses close-ended options to capture the presence and characteristics of various VPOs on a giv...

Journal of Plant and Environment, 2020

Sugarcane is an important cash crop in Pakistan. Recently, the average per hectare production of ... more Sugarcane is an important cash crop in Pakistan. Recently, the average per hectare production of sugarcane is low due to climatic variation. Therefore, sugarcane farmers are threatened by this emerging issue that has drastically affected their livelihoods, food security, and sustainability. This study was designed to analyze the perception, comprehension, and adoption of cultural practices in the mitigation of the impact of climate change. For this purpose, district Rahim yar khan was selected purposively from the Province of Punjab as the universe of the study; as one of the highly cultivated areas among all districts of Punjab. From selected districts, two tehsils were randomly selected, namely Sadiqabad and Kanpur. From each selected tehsil, 5 villages were selected using randomized sampling technique. In each selected village, 18 sugarcane farmers were selected randomly thus, making a total of 180 respondents. The data were collected through quantitative methods. A pre-tested an...

2010 International Conference on Information Society, 2010

Video conferencing systems typically rely on the computational and compression performance of the... more Video conferencing systems typically rely on the computational and compression performance of their video codecs to meet strict performance constraints. It is well known that blocking artifacts in DCT-video codec based video conferencing system becomes prominent on low bandwidths due to block-based processing. Wavelet technology is increasingly being popular for high quality blocking artifact-free compression suitable for low bandwidth channels. Despite the advantages, there are not many wavelet based video codecs and their use in a real-time video conferencing has been limited owing to the nonavailability of an embedded real-time solution. This paper presents the architectural design of a wavelet technology-based video conferencing system, the method of converting a wavelet based video codec Dirac into its embedded plug-in, and the process of embedding Dirac into Openphone (SIP based video conferencing system). A prototype system has been successfully implemented and tested.

The present investigation highlights the 2-dimentional design of several interesting super alkali... more The present investigation highlights the 2-dimentional design of several interesting super alkali doped borophene derivatives for efficient nonlinear optical (NLO). Borophene (B36) and super alkali units (Li3O) whose combining effects and resulting NLO responses have been evaluated by orienting super-alkali clusters at various sites such as a hub, rim, and bridged around the B36 molecule. The charge analysis is characterized by frontier and natural bond orbital analysis, narrowed HOMO-LUMO band gap, better intramolecular charge transfers. Molecular electrostatic potential surfaces demonstrate enhanced optoelectronic features of these complexes that are viable owing to Li3O adsorption. Singly doped and doubly doped complexes have been considered and their NLO properties have been calculated. Band gap energy reduces about three times when doped with two Li3O. A considerably high figure of merit, first hyperpolarizability (bo) values up to five digits 10611 a. u. for complex A proved t...

Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2021

Abstract DFT studies were performed to evaluate the chemotherapeutic potential of g-C3N4 as a dru... more Abstract DFT studies were performed to evaluate the chemotherapeutic potential of g-C3N4 as a drug carrier for carboplatin in cancer treatment. The optimized, electronic and excited-state characteristics of g-C3N4, carboplatin, and g-C3N4-carboplatin-complex were determined to evaluate the targeted drug delivery ability of g-C3N4. The Ead values of g-C3N4-carboplatin-complex for the gas phase is −1.39 eV and in the water phase is −0.52 eV. The non-covalent-interaction (NCI) plot revealed that weak forces of interaction are present between g-C3N4 and carboplatin. These weak forces of interactions are responsible for an obvious offloading of the drug from g-C3N4 carrier at its targeted site. Through frontier molecular orbital analysis it was evaluated that during excitation carboplatin behaves as HOMO and delivers the charge towards the LUMO i.e. g-C3N4. Charge-decomposition-analysis (CDA) was also performed to further support the charge transfer process which interprets the maximum overlap between the orbitals of the carboplatin and g-C3N4. In the gas phase, the λmax of g-C3N4- carboplatin-complex is red-shifted by 74 nm. While in the aqueous phase the λmax is blue-shifted. These theoretically obtained spectra are also in good consistency with that of experimental spectra. The PET (photo-induced electron-transfer) process, as well as electron–hole-theory, were also performed for the graphical elucidation of different excited-states. The photo-induced-electron-transfer (PET) process interprets that upon interaction quenching in fluorescence takes place. Furthermore, g-C3N4 with cationic (+1) and anionic (−1) charge-state (g-C3N4+1/−1) represented negligible distortion in structure and forms stable-complexes with carboplatin. All the observed results confirmed that g-C3N4 possesses significant chemo-therapeutic potential as a drug carrier for carboplatin in cancer treatment. This theoretical work will also stimulate the concern of researchers for further exploration of other 2D nanomaterials for drug-delivery applications.

Meanwhile, ultrasound remained presented by way of indicative instrument in obstetrics in additio... more Meanwhile, ultrasound remained presented by way of indicative instrument in obstetrics in addition gynecology through Professor Ian Donald 7 eras previously, real-time imaging has become maximum known sonographic procedure experienced in obstetrics also gynecology. Once undefined results on real-period gray scale throughout 2-dimensional sonography need additional assessment, progressive procedures remain frequently essential. Alike progressive procedures comprise color also power Doppler, 3- also 4-dimensional ultrasound in addition procedures of volume handling (interpretation), just like shallow in addition, supreme manner, magic cut, capacity control, NICHE resources, and -as newest invention, HD movement (Doppler) also HD lifetime superficial translation. The researchers would love to demonstrate through resources of the sequences of pictures also patient exhibitions, how those novel indicative apparatuses discover its medical submission in everyday repetitive of maintenance in obstetrics also gynecology. Key Words: 3D ultrasound, 4D ultrasound, Capacity interpreting, HD movement, HD lifetime.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 28, 2023

This study aims to investigate the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), energy u... more This study aims to investigate the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), energy usage, and carbon emissions in the BRICS countries. The research has hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between FDI and carbon emissions, as well as between energy usage and carbon emissions. Additionally, the research has also hypothesized that FDI moderates the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, while energy usage moderates the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth. The data has been collected using online databases readily available within the required period of time. The dependent variable in this research was carbon emission while the independent variables were FDI and energy usage. Nevertheless, some other variables, such as GDP and population, were also factored in the analysis to increase the effectiveness of the study. The research has employed quantitative data analysis method to analyze the research hypothesis. Using correlation and multiple regression analysis, it was found that both FDI and energy usage have a positive relationship with carbon emissions. However, there was not enough evidence to suggest that FDI and energy usage significantly moderate the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth in the BRICS countries. These findings have important implications for policymakers as we as future researchers in the BRICS countries who seek to balance economic growth with sustainable development.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 16, 2023

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a phrase that promotes business awareness over the whole terri... more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a phrase that promotes business awareness over the whole territory of the parent nation. Given that (FDI) aids recipient nations in developing and establishing better circumstances, it is confusing. Pakistan falls behind in enhancing mechanical organization as an agrarian economy. Small and mediumsized businesses, particularly those in the material management industry, significantly impact Pakistan's economy. Unusual steps like (FDI) and industry respect expansion are needed for an immense-scope economy to continue. Rich countries' careful planning for upgrades and the overall reduction of CO2 emissions have done more harm than good. The predicted relationship between a few signs of common contamination and per-capita income is represented by the natural Kuznets curve (EKC). It is possible to trace the rise in per capita income to (FDI) and modern advancement. Supporters of globalization consider it advantageous for the underprivileged, while critics point out its unforeseen adverse effects. The development of the financial system benefits from foreign direct investment (FDI). This situation will assist countries in acquiring outstanding inventions for the creation process and enhancing it further by taking advantage of the effects of the combination. Because they collaborate with other countries to get less polluting industrial processes, countries with tight environmental regulations incur somewhat higher creation costs. Since Pakistan is also attractive to international investors, a study is being done to examine the impacts of (FDI) on CO2 outflow.

Out of South Asian countries, Pakistan is experiencing the fastest urbanization rate where more t... more Out of South Asian countries, Pakistan is experiencing the fastest urbanization rate where more than half of the population will reside in urban areas after next seven years. Such a rapid transformation in urban areas calls for an extraordinary response from spatial planning agencies. Handling of complex urban phenomena with precision and time efficiency has created the dire need for shifting from manual planning processes to computer-assisted planning approaches. Although, previous studies on spatial planning practices in Pakistan have highlighted the stages and processes where adoption of planning support systems (PSS) can help improve the planning outcomes. However, the use of geospatial technologies and PSS have been quite limited in adoption and undertake by the planning profession. With the advent of Smart Cities renewed awareness and support of data driven approach and tools such as PSS have assisted in bridging this utilization gap. To improve the adoption of PSS in spatial ...

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 2021

Urban visual pollution is increasingly affecting the built-up areas of the rapidly urbanizing pla... more Urban visual pollution is increasingly affecting the built-up areas of the rapidly urbanizing planet. Outdoor advertisements are the key visual pollution objects affecting the visual pollution index and revenue generation potential of a place. Current practices of uninformed and uncontrolled outdoor advertising (especially billboards) impairs effective control of visual pollution in developing countries. Improving this can result in over 20% reduction of visual pollution. This article presents a spatial decision support system (SDSS) to facilitate all the stakeholders (development control authorities, advertisers, billboard owners, and the public) in balancing the optimal positioning of billboards under the governing regulations. In terms of its technical implementation, SDSS is based on well-known geospatial open source technologies and uses an analytical hierarchy process AHP-inspired approach in spatial decision-making. It can help users through its category-specific user interfa...

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 2020

In an era of smart cities and digitalisation, there has been a noticeable increase in the develop... more In an era of smart cities and digitalisation, there has been a noticeable increase in the development and application of planning support systems (PSS). However, a significant challenge in the broader adoption of these PSS can be attributed to the user experience, which includes the efforts required in pre-processing data. It has been observed that typically 80% of the PSS usage time goes into pre-processing, cleaning, and loading data—a significant barrier for new users. This research focuses on improving user experience by developing and evaluating a new workflow tool called EasyUAZ. This workflow tool directly supports the iterative data preparation needs of scenario planning with the Online WhatIf?—a widely used PSS to develop land-use suitability, demand and land-allocation scenarios. A comparative evaluation has been conducted to quantify the time taken for data preparation with ArcGIS, QGIS, and the EasyUAZ. The study found that EasyUAZ offers a time saving of 30%–35% when co...

Sustainability, 2020

Since 2007, more than fifty percent of our planet’s population is living in urban areas. In the c... more Since 2007, more than fifty percent of our planet’s population is living in urban areas. In the coming decade, the rate of urbanization will be fastest in Asia and Africa. Within South Asian countries, urbanization has attained its fastest pace in Pakistan. Urban planners and agencies in Pakistan have tried various spatial plan making solutions to manage urban areas, but none have given the desired results. After a 20% increase in declared urban areas within last two decades, urban planners and policy makers are looking for a more innovative and realistic spatial planning solution, which could adjust to the uncertainties and complexities of real world. This research uses a mixed method approach comprising a two phased survey of professional planners, analyzed through the selective lexicon approach to document planners’ opinions about the reasons behind the poor performance and conformance of spatial plans. This study documents the planners’ understanding of the contemporary concept ...

The Academic Research Community publication, 2019

Urban surroundings and spaces are losing their identity due to the flooded visual pollution in th... more Urban surroundings and spaces are losing their identity due to the flooded visual pollution in the urban panorama of already densely populated cities in developing countries. Quantitative assessment of visual pollution and its spatial mapping; both are very recent and relatively un-explored branches of urban studies. The diversity of visual pollution objects (VPOs) and their traits, the subjectivity of observers, the scale of urban space and dependency on subjective variables has been key challenges for quantification during visual pollution assessment. The researcher has previously developed a paper-based score-card type visual pollution assessment (VPA) tool using Analytical Hierarchy Process (under publication) to address these issues. However, considering the challenges associated with the deployment of paper-based tool for VPA (inability to handle variety of data types i.e. text, numeric, geolocation, images etc.), the natural progression has been the development of a mobile-ba...

Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 2020

As cities grow, the continued development pressure and land-use change of peri-urban areas pose a... more As cities grow, the continued development pressure and land-use change of peri-urban areas pose a key challenge for urban planners to address. In the planning of peri-urban areas, the complexity of intertwining physical, environmental, transportation, social and institutional planning dimensions, rapidness of change, demand for precision, and subjectivity of the situations; application of digital planning tools (GIS, PSS and similar) offers a result-oriented and at times the only way out for realistic planning. Like many other countries, peri-urban growth in Pakistan is being managed by the preparation of Peri-Urban Structure Plans (PUSPs). Since, 2009, such plans have been prepared for 36 urban centres of various scale which offer a considerable size to explore the usage pattern of digital planning tools in real-world practice and learn the lessons. Despite wider development and adoption of geographic information systems (GIS) based planning support system (PSS) in spatial planning all over the world, the utilization of digital planning tools in Pakistan to support planning practise has been very limited. This research adopts a case study-based methodology to review the legal requirements of peri-urban plan-making and highlight tasks where digital planning tools can add value. It investigates why there is a paucity of up taking digital planning tools in the spatial plan preparation and documents key stumbling factors. To understand the user's perspective, a survey of (n = 108) urban planners has been undertaken using an online questionnaire. The survey assesses their understanding of the terms and their perception behind the current utilization level of digital planning tools for plan preparation. The analysis reveals a very low familiarity of urban planners with digital planning tools, particularly planning support systems, in Pakistan which is aligned with the findings from technologically advanced countries. The causes behind low utilization have been documented and grouped under three dimensions, adopted from previous research including 'user acceptance', 'instrument quality' and 'diffusion'. Finally, the paper concludes by proposing a framework for bridging the utilization gap to improve spatial planning practice.

All Days, 2019

Formation damage associated with water blockage is a common problem in oil/gas producing wells. W... more Formation damage associated with water blockage is a common problem in oil/gas producing wells. Water blockage is a damage mechanism which occurs when water saturation increases near wellbore, resulting in reduced hydrocarbon saturation and relative permeability to gas. When pore spaces around the well get nearly saturated with water, it reduces gas saturation to near irreducible level that block the gas flow. It decreases the gas production and may recover naturally by extended flow back or excessive drawdown. However, in depleted reservoirs, gas production may completely be lost and shall require chemical treatment. In this paper, a case study has been presented illustrating the complete loss of production of a gas well owing to the water blockage and the treatment mechanism to restore the production (SPE 102383). Well ‘A’ was drilled in Sindh, Pakistan in 2010 in Lower Goru Formation. Later, the well was put on compression and was found on natural decline. By Feb 2019, well was p...

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2016

Unmanaged placement, size, location, structure and contents of outdoor advertisement boards have ... more Unmanaged placement, size, location, structure and contents of outdoor advertisement boards have resulted in severe urban visual pollution and deterioration of the socio-physical living environment in urban centres of Pakistan. As per the regulatory instruments, the approval decision for a new advertisement installation is supposed to be based on the locational density of existing boards and their proximity or remoteness to certain land- uses. In cities, where regulatory tools for the control of advertisement boards exist, responsible authorities are handicapped in effective implementation due to the absence of geospatial analysis capacity. This study presents the development of a spatial decision support system (SDSS) for regularization of advertisement boards in terms of their location and placement. The knowledge module of the proposed SDSS is based on provisions and restrictions prescribed in regulatory documents. While the user interface allows visualization and scenario evaluation to understand if the new board will affect existing linear density on a particular road and if it violates any buffer restrictions around a particular land use. Technically the structure of the proposed SDSS is a web-based solution which includes open geospatial tools such as OpenGeo Suite, GeoExt, PostgreSQL, and PHP. It uses three key data sets including road network, locations of existing billboards and building parcels with land use information to perform the analysis. Locational suitability has been calculated using pairwise comparison through analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and weighted linear combination (WLC). Our results indicate that open geospatial tools can be helpful in developing an SDSS which can assist solving space related iterative decision challenges on outdoor advertisements. Employing such a system will result in effective implementation of regulations resulting in visual harmony and aesthetic improvement in urban communities.

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2016

Out of 182 million population of Pakistan, 38% reside in urban areas having an average growth rat... more Out of 182 million population of Pakistan, 38% reside in urban areas having an average growth rate of 1.6%, raising the urban housing demand significantly. Poor state response to fulfil the housing needs has resulted in a mushroom growth of private housing schemes (PHS) over the years. Consequently, only in five major cities of Punjab, there are 383 legal and 150 illegal private housing development projects against 120 public sector housing schemes. A major factor behind the cancerous growth of unapproved PHS is the prolonged and delayed approval process in concerned approval authorities requiring 13 months on average. Currently, manual and paper-based approaches are used for vetting and for granting the permission which is highly subjective and non-transparent. This study aims to design a flexible planning support system (PSS) to optimize the vetting process of PHS projects under any development authority in Pakistan by reducing time and cost required for site and documents investigations. Relying on the review of regulatory documents and interviews with professional planners and land developers, this study describes the structure of a PSS developed using opensource geo-spatial tools such as OpenGeo Suite, PHP, and PostgreSQL. It highlights the development of a Knowledge Module (based on regulatory documents) containing equations related to scheme type, size (area), location, access road, components of layout plan, planning standards and other related approval checks. Furthermore, it presents the architecture of the database module and system data requirements categorized as base datasets (built-in part of PSS) and input datasets (related to the housing project under approval). It is practically demonstrated that developing a customized PSS to optimize PHS approval process in Pakistan is achievable with geospatial technology. With the provision of such a system, the approval process for private housing schemes not only becomes quicker and user-friendly but also transparent.

Sustainability, 2019

With increasing focus on more nuanced aspects of quality of life, the phenomenon of urban visual ... more With increasing focus on more nuanced aspects of quality of life, the phenomenon of urban visual pollution has been progressively gaining attention from researchers and policy makers, especially in the developed world. However, the subjectivity and complexity of assessing visual pollution in urban settings remain a challenge, especially given the lack of robust and reliable methods for quantification of visual pollution. This paper presents a novel systematic approach for the development of a robust Visual Pollution Assessment (VPA) tool. A key feature of our methodology is explicit and systematic incorporation of expert and public opinion for listing and ranking Visual Pollution Objects (VPOs). Moreover, our methodology deploys established empirical complex decision-making techniques to address the challenge of subjectivity in weighting the impact of individual VPOs. The resultant VPA tool uses close-ended options to capture the presence and characteristics of various VPOs on a giv...

Journal of Plant and Environment, 2020

Sugarcane is an important cash crop in Pakistan. Recently, the average per hectare production of ... more Sugarcane is an important cash crop in Pakistan. Recently, the average per hectare production of sugarcane is low due to climatic variation. Therefore, sugarcane farmers are threatened by this emerging issue that has drastically affected their livelihoods, food security, and sustainability. This study was designed to analyze the perception, comprehension, and adoption of cultural practices in the mitigation of the impact of climate change. For this purpose, district Rahim yar khan was selected purposively from the Province of Punjab as the universe of the study; as one of the highly cultivated areas among all districts of Punjab. From selected districts, two tehsils were randomly selected, namely Sadiqabad and Kanpur. From each selected tehsil, 5 villages were selected using randomized sampling technique. In each selected village, 18 sugarcane farmers were selected randomly thus, making a total of 180 respondents. The data were collected through quantitative methods. A pre-tested an...

2010 International Conference on Information Society, 2010

Video conferencing systems typically rely on the computational and compression performance of the... more Video conferencing systems typically rely on the computational and compression performance of their video codecs to meet strict performance constraints. It is well known that blocking artifacts in DCT-video codec based video conferencing system becomes prominent on low bandwidths due to block-based processing. Wavelet technology is increasingly being popular for high quality blocking artifact-free compression suitable for low bandwidth channels. Despite the advantages, there are not many wavelet based video codecs and their use in a real-time video conferencing has been limited owing to the nonavailability of an embedded real-time solution. This paper presents the architectural design of a wavelet technology-based video conferencing system, the method of converting a wavelet based video codec Dirac into its embedded plug-in, and the process of embedding Dirac into Openphone (SIP based video conferencing system). A prototype system has been successfully implemented and tested.

The present investigation highlights the 2-dimentional design of several interesting super alkali... more The present investigation highlights the 2-dimentional design of several interesting super alkali doped borophene derivatives for efficient nonlinear optical (NLO). Borophene (B36) and super alkali units (Li3O) whose combining effects and resulting NLO responses have been evaluated by orienting super-alkali clusters at various sites such as a hub, rim, and bridged around the B36 molecule. The charge analysis is characterized by frontier and natural bond orbital analysis, narrowed HOMO-LUMO band gap, better intramolecular charge transfers. Molecular electrostatic potential surfaces demonstrate enhanced optoelectronic features of these complexes that are viable owing to Li3O adsorption. Singly doped and doubly doped complexes have been considered and their NLO properties have been calculated. Band gap energy reduces about three times when doped with two Li3O. A considerably high figure of merit, first hyperpolarizability (bo) values up to five digits 10611 a. u. for complex A proved t...

Journal of Molecular Liquids, 2021

Abstract DFT studies were performed to evaluate the chemotherapeutic potential of g-C3N4 as a dru... more Abstract DFT studies were performed to evaluate the chemotherapeutic potential of g-C3N4 as a drug carrier for carboplatin in cancer treatment. The optimized, electronic and excited-state characteristics of g-C3N4, carboplatin, and g-C3N4-carboplatin-complex were determined to evaluate the targeted drug delivery ability of g-C3N4. The Ead values of g-C3N4-carboplatin-complex for the gas phase is −1.39 eV and in the water phase is −0.52 eV. The non-covalent-interaction (NCI) plot revealed that weak forces of interaction are present between g-C3N4 and carboplatin. These weak forces of interactions are responsible for an obvious offloading of the drug from g-C3N4 carrier at its targeted site. Through frontier molecular orbital analysis it was evaluated that during excitation carboplatin behaves as HOMO and delivers the charge towards the LUMO i.e. g-C3N4. Charge-decomposition-analysis (CDA) was also performed to further support the charge transfer process which interprets the maximum overlap between the orbitals of the carboplatin and g-C3N4. In the gas phase, the λmax of g-C3N4- carboplatin-complex is red-shifted by 74 nm. While in the aqueous phase the λmax is blue-shifted. These theoretically obtained spectra are also in good consistency with that of experimental spectra. The PET (photo-induced electron-transfer) process, as well as electron–hole-theory, were also performed for the graphical elucidation of different excited-states. The photo-induced-electron-transfer (PET) process interprets that upon interaction quenching in fluorescence takes place. Furthermore, g-C3N4 with cationic (+1) and anionic (−1) charge-state (g-C3N4+1/−1) represented negligible distortion in structure and forms stable-complexes with carboplatin. All the observed results confirmed that g-C3N4 possesses significant chemo-therapeutic potential as a drug carrier for carboplatin in cancer treatment. This theoretical work will also stimulate the concern of researchers for further exploration of other 2D nanomaterials for drug-delivery applications.