Vol 5 Issue 2 - COMSATS Institute of Information Technology

TECHNOMOOT 2010
10-11 May 2010
In an effort to achieve excellence in educational
activities, CIIT Abbottabad organizes its mega event
entitled, “TechnoMoot” each year, in which
different types of national and international academic
activities are organized. In this connection, CIIT
Abbottabad organized its fifth High-Tech National
Level event comprising Seminars, Symposia and
Exhibitions under the name of TechnoMoot 2010 on
10-11 May 2010. It was a multidimensional gathering
of people from different educational institutions of
Higher Learning and Science & Technology
organizations.
Opening Ceremony of Technomoot 2010 was held at
campus and she felt quite elevated after seeing the
CIIT Abbottabad on 10 May 2010. Senator Engineer
progress made in the arena of academics, research
Rukhsana Zuberi, Chairperson, Pakistan Engineering
productivity and physical infrastructure in such a
Council, graced the ceremony as the Guest of Honor.
short span of 8 years. She was of the view that
Mr. Waqar Ayub, Commissioner Hazara Division was
transformation of abandoned military barracks into a
the Chief Guest and Dr. Arshid Pervez, Head,
functional campus, just in 75 days
LiSCENT, was the Convener of this
in
2001 was a miracle in itself but
event. Worthy Rector Dr. S.M. TechnoMoot 2010 comprised
creating
a galaxy of so many
Junaid Zaidi, S.I., Honorable s i x d i f f e r e n t a c t i v i t i e s
disciplines
in a short span of eight
Director, CIIT Abbottabad, Prof.
simultaneously organized to years is a great achievement by all
Dr. Khan Gul Jadoon, all faculty
benefit students, learners and means. She also commended the
members, senior administrative
officers and a large number of p r a c t i t i o n e r s a l i k e . T h e R&D output of the campus for its
students were present in the activities included EMCOT outstanding quality. She stated
(Electrical Engineering), CCIS that CIIT has succeeded in
ceremony.
Addressing the audience, Miss ( M a t h e m a t i c s ) , C S E creating a bouquet of a huge
Rukhsana Zuberi said that (Information Technology number of scholars in this part of
organizing such a mega event in a Center), Vision ICT (Computer the country.
magnificent manner at a remote Science), Miles (Management She advised the faculty and
corner of our mother land is in S c i e n c e s ) a n d S - D e v students to concentrate on quality
work which will lead towards
itself a remarkable step forward in
(Environmental Sciences, quality output and will enable
the present scenario of geo
Chemistry, Pharmacy and them to compete with other
political situation of Pakistan. She
Development
Studies)
nations. She said that the element
stated that she is feeling immense
of
honesty and integrity is very
pleasure to be with the future of
important.
If it is not taken care of,
Pakistan. Continuing she said that
it
brings
bad
name
to
your
identities as a proud
she had a detailed round of the exhibitions of
Pakistani.
engineering projects of the
Mr. Waqar Ayub in his address
students from the engineering
appreciated
the efforts of CIIT
institutions, Software exhibitions
Abbottabad
for organizing
by the multinationals, and felt
T
e
c
h
n
o
M
o
o
t 2010. He
highly satisfied that Pakistan's
c
o
n
g
r
a
t
u
l
a
t
e
d the CIIT
future is in safe hands.
Abbottabad's
Director,
faculty and
She further stated that role played
students
for
organizing
such a
by CIIT in the higher educational
mega
event.
He
said
that
he was
arena of Pakistan is so evident that
happy to see the projects of
no body could deny this being a
students of different universities
historical fact. She applauded the
and hoped that such more
efforts and services rendered by Dr. S.M. Junaid Zaidi,
innovative projects would be initiated by all Pakistani
S.I., Rector CIIT and his team in the field of quality
universities. In the end, a shield was presented to
education and research productivity. She told the
the Chief Guest by the Worthy Director and the event
audience that it was her first visit to CIIT Abbottabad
NEWSLETTER
01
was declared formally open.
Closing Ceremony of TechnoMoot 2010 was held on
11 May 2010 in Azeem Shahzad Memorial Hall.
Professor Syed Mussarat Shah, Campus Coordinator,
UET Abbottabad campus graced the ceremony as the
Chief Guest. Dr. Arshid Pervez, Convener of
TechnoMoot 2010 enlightened the audience about
the successful conclusion of TechnoMoot 2010. He
informed the audience that TechnoMoot 2010
provided a golden opportunity on mutual interaction
and National/Provincial harmony at the highest level
among the academicians, coming from every nook
and corner of Pakistan. He then gave a brief
description of the events that took place in
TechnoMoot 2010. He expressed his gratitude to all
HoDs, administrative staff and conveners of different
committees for making the event a real success. He
said that cooperative and managerial skills of all the
aforementioned persons played an important role in
exhibiting this mega event in its real perspective to
achieve the worthwhile objectives.
The Chief Guest commended the efforts of CIIT
Abbottabad for successfully organizing this mega
event for the fifth consecutive year. He was very
appreciative of the projects displayed by all
universities. He advised the students to pay full
attention to their studies and should spare no efforts
for the prosperity and progress of Pakistan.
Prizes were then distributed among the winners. The
ceremony concluded with the presentation of shield
as memento of appreciation to the Chief Guest by
the worthy Director.
Conference of Software Enterprises (CSE) at CIIT
COMSATS Information Technology Center (CITC), 10-11 May 2010
CSE was attended by CEOs, IT Executives, Project Managers, Industry Executives, Policy Makers,
Government Officials, University Deans, Directors and Professors, and Researchers and Students
COMSATS Information Technology Center (CITC)
2.
Various renowned Business companies
organized Conference of Software Enterprises (CSE)
3.
Telecommunication companies
during TechnoMoot 2010, one of the mega events
4.
Government Degree College Balakot
organized by CIIT Abbottabad on 10-11 May 2010.
5.
Azad Kashmir University
The event was attended by large number of eminent
6.
Hazara University Mansehra
scholars from all over the country. CITC organized
On Spot Interviews
several seminars and exhibitions during the event.
The Pakistan's leading name in call center industry
The fifth CSE 2010 provided an
“IONS” group of companies
opportunity to get an insight into the The participating students participated in grand exhibition of
Pakistani Software Industry. Several had a chance to mingle in CES 2010.
leading software companies from w i t h t h e s o f t w a r e IONS were interested in hiring fresh
Islamabad, Peshawar and other
graduates in their management and
professionals and got a
cities exhibited their products at the
other positions like HR managers
event. CSE provided an excellent good understanding of the and marketing managers. They
opportunity to the software software products and showed keen confidence in the CIIT
companies and other IT solution services. On spot CV quality of education and requested
providers to market their products to collection and short listing to arrange for on spot interviews and
a wide range of audience including was also done, which shall direct hiring of CIIT graduates.
t h e H a tt a r In d u s t r i a l A re a , then be forwarded to Considering it as an opportunity for
Universities and Medical Colleges, i n t e r e s t e d s o f t w a r e CIIT Abbottabad graduates, CITC
NGOs, Hospitals and Government companies
arranged for on spot interviews
organizations.
which attracted CIIT fresh graduates
CSE is an endeavor which has been
and participants of CSE-2010.
quite successful in fostering close ties between
Lucky Draw
academia and industry. CIIT recognizes the
A lucky draw was also conducted in CSE for the
importance of this liaison and feels that much needs
students. Purpose of conducting this activity was to
to be done to stop the two from working in seclusion.
encourage the students to attend the software
CSE had been successful in breaking the ice and
exhibition and to make a gathering at the event. A girl
commencing fruitful discussions among university
from DIT Course (Zakat Course) won a surprise gift in
professors and industry executives.
this lucky draw activity.
Following companies and universities participated in
CSE Exhibition
the event:
Software exhibition for CSE was organized on first
1.
Government Post Graduate College
floor of Z Block in two separate rooms. More than 15
Abbottabad
stalls were arranged in each room. Some of the stalls
APRIL - JUNE 2010
02
were arranged in corridors. Whole venue was
beautifully decorated with banners, posters and
other promotional
material.
Mr. Waqar Ayub,
Commissioner
H az ara Divis ion
visited the venue.
H e
w a s
accompanied by Dr.
S.M.Junaid Zaidi,
S.I, Rector CIIT, Dr.
Khan Gul Jadoon,
Director CIIT
Abbottabad, Professors and some administrative
officers. Guests commended the efforts of CIIT
Abbottabad for organizing such a fruitful event.
Professor Dr. Mussarat Shah, Ex-Vice Chancellor, UET
Peshawar and
C a m p u s
coordinator, UET
A b b o tt a b a d
Campus graced the
event as the Chief
Guest. He was quite
appreciative of all
arrangements
made by CIIT
Abbottabad and the
products displayed
by all participating companies in the event.
Stalls List
S. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Company
No. Of Stalls
Telenor
1
UBL
1
Bank AL-Habib
1
PTCL
1
Elite Technologies
1
Wateen Telecom
1
Buraq Systems
1
FES
1
X pert Systems
1
Nexis Education Consultants
1
Big Ben
1
O&A Business
1
KB Sarkar
1
S. No.
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Company
Cross Biz
CMC
Soft House CITC
R&D
CNS+ISP
NTS
Logic S/W House
Dee Byte
Link.Net
Askari Islamic Bank
Education Consultant
CITC Islamabad
No. Of Stalls
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
! UET
! International Islamic University, Islamabad
! Quaid-e-Azam University of Engineering, Science and Technology, Nawabshah
! Federal Urdu University, Islamabad
! Air University, Islamabad
! Institute of Industrial Electronics Engineering, Karachi
! COMSATS Institute of Information Technology
! NUST, Islamabad
! NU FAST
! LUMS, Lahore
! Dawood College of Engineering and Technology, Karachi
! NIME, Peshawar
! Peshawar College of Engineering, Peshawar
! University of Management and Technology, Lahore
! NFC IET, Multan
! Institute of Industrial Electronic Engineering, Karachi
! KUST Institute of Engineering Sciences, Kohat
! NFC Institute of Engineering and Fertilizer Research, Faisalabad
! WAH Engineering College, Wah
Position
First
EMCOT 2010
Electrical Systems, Micro-Controllers & Telecommunications
Department of Electrical Engineering, 10-11 May 2010
Second
The Department of Electrical Engineering, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, organized
its 7th event of EMCOT on 10-11 May 2010. EMCOT 2010 is one of the research innovations that nourishes potential
engineers in the field of Electrical Systems, Micro-Controllers and Telecommunications.
The technical program was run in 3 sessions in the 8 technical categories namely Embedded Systems & Microcontroller Applications; Networks; Robotics & Control; Power Electronics; Electrical Systems; Telecommunications
and Power Electronics.
Tutorial Sessions
The following tutorial discussions were conducted:
!
!
Project Exhibition
A total of 50 exhibitors showcased their cutting edge technologies and the latest applications. Following universities
participated in the Project Exhibition:
Names of Students
Sajid Mehmood
and
Abid Muhammad Jan
Waqar Hussain
and
Muhammad Shaheer
University
Sir Syed University of
Engineering and
Technology
Center for Advance
Studies in Engineering
(CASE), Islamabad
Software Based Project:
Position
First
Names of Students
Waqas Bashir
and
Uzair Mehmood
University
CIIT Islamabad
Second
Mohammad Javed
and
Adnan ul Qayum
KICSIT, KRL, Islamabad
Abdul Majeed and Imran Khalid
CIIT Abbottabad
Tuning Techniques for Micro-wave Meta-materials by Dr. Junaid Mughal, GIKI Topi
Evolution of Neural Networks using Cartesian Genetic Programming
by Dr. Gul Muhammad Khan, UET Peshawar
Paper Presentations
EMCOT 2010 received 25 research papers from undergraduate students and
about 15 were selected for oral presentation after a thorough review
process. A total of 3 sessions were organized for subject presentations with
Pakistan's renowned researchers/scholars as session chairs and co-chairs.
All the sessions were quite alive and comprehensive question answer
sessions were conducted. These sessions were a clear cut indication of the
fact that research culture in our academic institutions is on upward pace.
NEWSLETTER
The 2-day program consisted
of project competition, series
of talks and seminars/
symposia, technical sessions
(inclusive of 15 oral paper
sessions) and 2 tutorial
sessions
03
Project's Title
Auto Helm Control of a
sailing boat using
fuzzy logic control
Ayaan Rover
Consalation
Prize
Project's Title
Optimized Scalable
Architecture for DCT
Computation Engine
using SIMD
Simulation of Steady
Heat Transfer in Different
Geometries with Various
Boundary Conditions
Design and
Implementation of UAV
Best Paper Award:
Isfandyar Hassan Khan of Pakistan Naval Engineering College Karachi won the best paper award for the paper titled
“Single Phase Equivalent model of STATCOM that can absorb or generate reactive power”.
APRIL - JUNE 2010
04
S-Dev 2010
Departments of Environmental Sciences, Development Studies, Chemistry & Pharmacy
10-11 May 2010
S-Dev (Science for Development) 2010 event was
jointly organized during TechnoMoot 2010, at
COMSATS Institute of Information Technology
(CIIT), Abbottabad, by four different departments
i.e. Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Pharmacy
and Development Studies. Various events of S-Dev
included seminars and lectures, display of posters
projecting the major research achievements of
various research groups, display of gems and
exhibition of published research papers etc. The
Department of Chemistry session was held under the
name of “Modern trends in chemistry”. Three
most eminent scholars from different universities of
Pakistan were invited to share their research
experience with the students of this area. Different
professors, teachers and students from Hazara
University and local colleges were also invited to
attend the symposium.
The session host was Dr. Umar Farooq, Dr. Rehana
Rashid, Chairperson, Department of Chemistry,
introduced the Department of Chemistry and
presented vision 2020 to the audience. This was
followed by another presentation from Professor Dr.
Farzana Mehmood, an eminent scholar from
Bahauddin Zakaria University. She delivered a talk on
the topic entitled “Gas Hydrates - The Burning
Ice”. She told the
audience that the gas
hydrates were reported
for the first time by Sir H.
Davey in 1810. She
highlighted versatile
physical, chemical,
thermodynamic and
kinetic parameters of the
most common gas
hydrates such as O2, N2,
CO2, CH4, H2S, Ar, Kr, Xe,
Ferons(CFC) and oxides
of N& S and the new
approaches and benefits
in industry especially
generation of hydrates for
NASA's Fuel Cells
requirement in the space shuttle program. The
modern theme of chemistry was appreciated and
became the burning discussion topic among the
young researchers and students.
Second presentation was on “Radiation
Technology and Modern Life” by Prof. Dr.
Shamshad Ahmad, NUST, Islamabad. He introduced
the Radiation technology, its significance and special
NEWSLETTER
characteristics over the traditional chemical methods
of reactions and modification of material. It was
highlighted that radiation processing is now a
vigorously expanding area because of its particular
merits such as its lower cost, easy to use and
environmental friendly nature. He also elaborated
mechanism of radiation processes and various
modern applications such as radiation sterilization of
disposable biological and medical supplies, radiationcured coatings, radiation degradation, radiation
induced grafting and cross linking of polymers that
are used to obtain enhanced characteristics,
radiation treatment of gemstone, pearls to improve
value and appearance for jewellery. Moreover the
role of irradiated cables for anti-lock brake system
and excellent memory of irradiated polymers was
also discussed.
The final presentation was given by Prof. Dr. Hamid
Latif, University of the Punjab, Lahore. His
presentation was on the synthesis of “Biologically
active compounds based on Benzylidine
derivatives”. He described the ongoing research
work of his group and highlighted the success which
was obtained in this field.
The shields and souvenirs were presented to the
speakers and guests. The session was concluded by
the vote of thanks from
Dr. Abdur Rahman khan,
Professor, Department of
Chemistry.
Symposium by the
Department of Pharmacy
was organized on 11 May
2010. Tw o eminent
experts, Prof. Dr. Zafar
Iqbal from the
Department of Pharmacy,
University of Peshawar
a n d M r. J a v e d
Muhammad from Khyber
Te a c h i n g H o s p i t a l ,
Pe s h awa r w e re t h e
invited speakers, to
deliver talks on the topic
entitled “Role of Pharmacist and Challenges in
Pakistan”.
Guest speakers were introduced by Dr. Taous Khan.
Both the speakers highlighted various factors which
hurdle the full utilization of potentials and services of
pharmacists in Pakistan. They stated that in contrast
to the developed world, the services of pharmacists
in Pakistan are not utilized to their potentials and
05
their role as health care professionals has not been
given due importance either by the community or
other health professionals. The lack of recognition of
role of pharmacist in Pakistan is due to several factors
including shortage of pharmacists, more focus
towards management than towards customers'
services and limited
interaction of pharmacists
with the public. The health
care system of any country
is unable to resolve most
medicine-related issues
effectively without
pharmacists.
The faculty members and
senior students from the
Pharmacy Departments of
various Universities and
Institutes including Hazara
U n i v e r s i t y, W o m e n
Institute of Learning and
Pakistan Institute of
Professional Studies were
invited to attend the symposium. The CIIT students
and all the guests showed great interest in the
symposium. They were of the view that the talks
delivered by the guest speakers were very
informative.
Prof. Dr. Izhar Hussain, Chairman, Department of
Pharmacy extended vote of thanks to the guest
speakers and all participants and elaborated the
achievements of the pharmacy department and its
faculty members. He informed the audience that
presently Pharmacy Department is equipped with
fully established 6 undergraduate teaching
laboratories and 8 of its faculty members hold PhD
degrees, mostly from technologically advanced
countries. Pharmacy faculty has published 136
research papers in Impact Factored Journals having
total Impact Factor of 202 and 546 citations.
Session of the Department of Development Studies
was held on 11 May 2010. Symposium was on
“Issues and Opportunities in Post Conflict
Swat”. Mr. Khalid Aziz, Ex-Secretary FATA was the
Chief Guest and the Keynote Speaker of the event.
Other speakers included Dr. Sajjad Madani, Head,
Department of Computer Science, CIIT Abbottabad,
Dr. Bahadar Nawab, Head, Department of
Development Studies, CIIT Abbottabad and Mr. Fazal
Mabud, Chairman, HUJRA organization.
The objectives of the symposium were as follows:
1. The background and consequences of Swat
conflict and operation
2. The livelihood security situation today?
3. How have different peoples' security and
livelihoods been affected by the conflict?
4. How do women and men, as well as communities
APRIL - JUNE 2010
as a whole, cope with different kinds of insecurity
and conflict as they pursue their livelihoods?
Session of Environmental Sciences Department
commenced with a special lecture delivered by Dr.
Ahmed Hassan, Director, Ministry of Environment,
Islamabad. He delivered a talk on “Role of Ministry
of Environment in
Handling Water Crisis
in Pakistan”. He
highlighted various causes
of water crisis and also
shared various means to
combat the current
situation. The aim of this
talk was to generate and
raise awareness among
students, faculty and
business community about
the current critical
situation and how 3R`s
i.e., Reduce, Reuse and
Recycle strategy can
minimize the after affects
of current water crisis. The attendees found it
valuable and very informative.
The second lecture was delivered by Mr. Ishtiaq
Kiyani, Production Manager, KIMS, Hattar Industrial
Estates, Hattar. Topic of his talk was “UniversityIndustrial Collaboration for the Training of
University Students”. It was arranged, realizing
the fact that very few students know about the
subject and the current market demands. His
comprehensive talk contained the information about
the role of University-Industrial linkages in training
and grooming of students. Attendees were informed
about the CIIT and KIMS Collaboration, in which Mr.
Zulfiqar A. Bhatti treated waste water generated/
released by KIMS industry in UASB reactor using
waste Hydrogen Peroxide, H2O2, with removal
efficiency of 90%. Mr. Ishtiaq Kiyani not only
informed them about the strengths of such
collaborations but also motivated them to apply for
the available various internship programs for their
training and grooming.
A large number of students not only from CIIT but
also from local colleges and universities attended the
seminars and visited stalls. They inquired about the
on-going research projects and lab facilities at
COMSATS.
A major feature of interest for students and
participants of TechnoMoot 2010 was free check up
of blood pressure, blood group and body mass index
(BMI). This free facility was provided by the
Department of Pharmacy and nearly 200 students,
faculty members and participants benefited from this
activity.
06
Vision ICT 2010
Vision Information and Communication Technology
5th Symposium on Computational Complexites,
Innovations and Solutions, CCIS 2010
Department of Computer Science, 10-11 May 2010
Department of Mathematics, 10-11 May 2010
Vision ICT is the event arranged by the Department
of Computer Science under the umbrella of
Technomoot. Vision ICT is organized as inter campus
activity in which all campuses of CIIT participate in
various activities. This year 4th event of Vision ICT was
arranged in series. Following activities were arranged
under Vision ICT 2010:
· Seminar
· Graduate Student's Poster Competition
· Under Graduate Student's Project
Competition
· Quiz Competition
· Speed Programming Competition
· Gaming Competition
Event was yet another success on account of CIIT
Abbottabad in general and Department of Computer
Science in particular. Vision ICT provided a platform
for students and faculty of different CIIT campuses to
meet and share their experiences and ideas with
each other. Events were spread over two days and
were conducted in a very healthy and cordial
environment.
Seminar was
conducted on
10 May 2010.
Speaker for
the occasion
was Dr. Junaid
Mughal, Dean,
Engineering
Department,
Ghulam Ishaq
Khan Institute
of Technology,
Swabi. The topic of his talk was “Wireless
Communications”. He enlightened the audience
about the concepts and applications of wireless
communication and infrastructure. He particularly
emphasized on working of cellular networks in this
context. The talk was followed by question answer
session.
13 Posters of students form different CIIT campuses
were dispalyed in Graduate student's Poster
competition. 2 judges from the department of
Computer Science evaluated the posters. Atta-ur-
NEWSLETTER
Rehman from Abbottabad campus took the lead. His
topic was “Energy Efficient Routing Protocol”.
Sajjad Ahmad of Abbottabad campus was declared
runner up. His poster was on “Developing a
Stemmer for Urdu Language”.
In Project Competition, 12 projects from all
campuses of CIIT were displayed. Projects were
developed by undergraduate students. CIIT Wah
campus grabbed first position for the project titled
“Building Core Architecture for next
Generation Network Services”. Second position
was won by CIIT Abbottabad for the project titled
“Network Monitoring Tool using WMI”.
Students from Wah campus were Syed waqar Haider
and Syed Zain Mehdi. Syed Adil Hassan and Syed
Owais Ali Shah presented the runner up project.
One team from each CIIT campus participated in IT
Quiz competition. Tough competition was observed
in 3 rounds competition. CIIT Abbottabad got first
position followed by CIIT Islamabad campus.
Hammad Raza, Sami Akram and Sofia naureen
represented Abbottabad campus while Islamabad
campus was
represented
by Hozaima
Shafqat,
Mahim Shahid
and rabie
Zahid.
Very healthy
participation in
s p e e d
programming
was observed.
32 students from various campuses participated in
the event. The event trophy was picked up by Agam
Saram of CIIT Lahore. Hussain Shafique of CIIT
Abbottabad got second position in the competition.
Gaming competition was held on 11 May 2010. 32
students of all campuses participated and different
rounds of gaming were held. CIIT Abbottabad won
Medal of honor. Team comprised Zeeshan Qayum
Khattak, Ajab Khan and Junaid Khan. Runner ups in
the event were Zia-ud-Din Ahmed, Zohaib Shafique
and Majid Ahmed of CIIT Wah campus.
07
The objective of the symposium was to bring together computational scientists
from all fields of traditional Sciences, namely Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology,
Medicine and all branches of engineering in order to share their ideas with each other to
explore new avenues for promoting further research
The 5th Symposium on “Computational Complexities,
Innovations and Solutions” was held on 10-11 May
2010 as an integral part of TechnoMoot 2010. The
Symposium was a continuation of the previous four
Symposia held in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The objective of the symposium was to bring
together computational scientists from all fields of
traditional Sciences, namely Mathematics, Physics,
Chemistry, Biology, Medicine and all branches of
engineering in order to share their ideas with each
other to explore new avenues for promoting further
research. Another objective of the symposium was to
gather eminent scientists, educationists and
industrialists from various walks of life to present
their achievements in the field of computation.
The Symposium was attended by more than 60
participants including prominent mathematicians
from The National University of Science & Technology
Rawalpindi, Abdus Salam School of Mathematical
Sciences Lahore, Karachi University, COMSATS ,
Islamia University Bahawalpur, GC University
Fa i s a l a b a d ,
FAST Lahore
a
n
d
Foundation
University
Rawalpindi. 21
speakers
delivered their
talks on
different fields
o
f
Mathematics
including
Computational Fluid Dynamics, Relativity, Group
Theory, Fuzzy Algebra & The Complex Numerical and
Functional Analysis. The talks were highly
appreciated by the participants.
Following were the keynote Speakers and
Participants:
1. Prof. Dr. Syed Arif Kamal, Karachi University,
Karachi.
2. Prof. Dr. Vasile Lupulescu, Abdus Salam School of
Mathematical Sciences Lahore
3. Prof. Dr. Tzanko Doncev, Abdus Salam School of
Mathematical Sciences Lahore
4. Prof. Dr. Munir A. Rashid, NUST, Rawalpindi.
APRIL - JUNE 2010
5. Dr. Raheel Muhyuddin from Foundation University
Rawalpindi
In the opening of the Symposium on 10 May 2010,
Mr. Adam Khan delivered introductory remarks about
the Department of Mathematics, CIIT Abbottabad
and requested Prof. Dr. Tzanko Doncev, from SMS
Lahore, to chair the first session before the lunch.
The session after lunch was chaired by Professor Dr.
Munir A. Rashid, from NUST, Rawalpindi.
On the second day of symposium, three sessions
were conducted. The first two sessions were chaired
by Professor Dr. Vasile Lupulescu from Abdus Salam
School of Mathematical Sciences Lahore. The session
after lunch was chaired by Professor Dr. Syed Arif
Kamal from Karachi University, Karachi.
The talks in the symposium were generally delivered
by both pure and applied mathematicians which
emphasized on computational aspects of
mathematics and their applications in engineering,
Physics and other areas.
The closing ceremony of the Symposium was held at
04:00 PM, in
which Dr. Dost
Muhammad,
A d v i s o r
Mathematics
C I I T
A b b o tt a b a d ,
presented
shields and
Certificates to
Speakers and
Participants.
I n
t h e
ceremony, he expressed his gratitude to all
participants and Speakers of the Symposium for their
participation on behalf of the Department of
Mathematics. He also highlighted the efforts made by
the organizers of the Symposium.
The participants appreciated the efforts of CIIT
Abbottabad and especially of the Department of
Mathematics for providing them an opportunity to
participate in such a high-tech event. They
appreciated the hospitality and boarding/lodging
facilities. On the whole, Symposium was a great
success in fulfilling its objectives.
08
MILES
Manage Innovation, Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Strategies
Department of Management Sciences, 10-11 May 2010
1. Background of the event
Keeping in view the importance of management and its strategic role in today's ever-changing and dynamic
environment, the Department of Management Sciences, CIIT Abbottabad has been providing a platform for not
only the business students but also the working entrepreneurs, managers, businessmen and faculty for interaction
and exposure within their community at national level for sharing the latest trends in the field of management
sciences. This idea laid foundation of MILES which as its name explains for it, aims at providing solutions to Manage
Innovation, Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Strategies. The focus of its activities has been intended towards the
betterment of society and businesses through improved management practices.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Mr. Naveed Iqbal (Member)
Mr. Khalid Mahmood (Member)
Ms. Zohra (Member)
Ms. Amina (Member)
Ms. Rabiah Rustam (Member)
Mr. Qazi Shujahat (Member)
Mr. Mansoor Nazir Bhatti (Member)
Mr. Muhammad Waseem (Member)
S. No.
1
Topic
Monetary policy
in Pakistan
Speaker
Professor Dr. Abdul Qayyum,
Registrar, PIDE, Islamabad
2
Materializing trend of enterprise mobility:
The concept of “Always Connected”
Dr. Muhammad Qasim
Associate Professor,
FC College University, Lahore
S. No.
1
Topic
Brand Image and Loyalty of
Toyota Cars in Pakistan
2
Ownership structure and
Dividend Policy
Speaker
Dr. Farzand Jan
Director Fina,
Agriculture University, Peshawar
Mr Hammad Mirza*
CIIT Lahore
3
Demographic factors and SpiritualityAn Empirical Analysis of Banking
Sector of Pakistan
2. Objectives of Miles ·
! To establish a link between university and industry by providing a platform to academicians and industry
professionals for knowledge sharing, brainstorming and general awareness.
! To provide a forum for academicians and researchers to interact at national level. MCC helps to share the latest
trends in the field of management sciences by involving renowned professionals and practitioners.
! To assess and acknowledge academic and research capabilities of business students by providing them a
Session Chair
Professor
Dr. Shehla Amjad
Department of
Development Studies
CIIT Abbottabad
Session 2
competitive set up at the national level.
! To make students aware about the modern practices in the corporate world.
! To provide a platform to the entrepreneurs to get valuable information about the available business plans and
management practices. They can share their problems with the leading academicians and researchers for
possible solutions. It also provides them opportunity to exhibit their products and services.
! To develop a link among the universities for faculty exchange programs.
3. Benefits to Pakistan
!It provides strong and sustainable University and Industry Interaction and Collaboration.
!It is a way towards Development of Human Capital by developing Faculty, Students, Entrepreneurs, and the
Community.
!It expands Job Market and job Opportunities.
!It gives more job providers rather than Job Seekers.
Session Chair
Dr. Muhammad Qasim
Associate Professor,
FC College University,
Lahore
Ms Huma Ali**
CIIT, Sahiwal
4. Organizing Committee of Miles
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Prof. Dr. Mushtaq Khan (Head of the Department)
Prof. Dr. Amjad Farid Hasnu
Mr. Salman Ahmad (Convener)
Mr. Atif Rao( Member)
Mr. Yasir bin Tariq (Member)
Mr. Jamil Anwar (Member)
Mr. Abdul Majid Khalil (Member)
Mr. Syed Tauseef Shah (Member)
Mr. Saeed Akbar (Member)
Mr. Amir (Member)
Mr. Shahid (Member)
NEWSLETTER
09
APRIL - JUNE 2010
10
*On Behalf of Professor Dr. Talat Afza, Dean Faculty of Management Sciences, COMSATS
** On Behalf of Professor Mahmood Bodla, Director CIIT, Sahiwal
DAY 2, 11 May 2010
BIZCOM (Inter-university Business Plan Competition)
The objective of the event was to provide a platform to business students of HEC recognized universities to
participate in the Business plan Competition. The event provided an opportunity to the students to put ideas into
action by preparing and presenting their business plans on innovative ideas focusing on SME sector of Pakistan.
A total of 13 teams from 11 universities participated in the competition. Each team comprised 2 students and one
supervisor. The criteria for the evaluation was based on written business plans, already submitted by participating
teams, and power point presentations and question handling skills.
Mr. Javed Khattak, Provincial Chief, SMEDA, Peshawar, Mr. Syed Azhar Hussain Shah, Regional Operating Chief, NBP,
Abbottabad and Mr. Khawar, Manager Meezan Bank, City Branch, Abbottabad were the judges of the event. Dr.
Ashfaq Ahmed, Managing Director, De-Opera Consultants evaluated the best presentation of the event. Following
were the winners in different categories.
1. First Prize of Rs. 15,000 won by CIIT Abbottabad (for the Business Plan namely BioDiesel)
2. 2nd Prize of Rs. 10,000 won by CIIT Sahiwal (Dairy Land)
3. 3rd Prize of Rs. 5,000 won by Fatima Jinnah University, Rawalpindi (Askool Gaari)
4. Best Presentation Award of Rs. 5000 won by CIIT Sahiwal (Agriworld)
5. Consolation prize Award of Rs. 5000 won by University of Faisalabad (Fruit A Luscious)
The participants of the event were business students, competing students and their supervisors and faculty
members. The list of universities and the number of participants is as under:
Entrepreneurs' Corridor
The objective of the event was to provide an exposure to business students, faculty and local entrepreneurs to get
first hand knowledge and share their experiences with the people from the leading industries of Pakistan. The
participants of the event were local entrepreneurs, students of universities participating in other events, local
students and faculty members.
Mr. Shafique Nawab, Managing Director, BioCare Pharmaceuticals, Islamabad, Mr. Fayyaz Ahmad, Patron-in-Cheif,
Jinnah Group of Colleges, Mansehra and Mr. Salahuddin Shah, CEO, Moon Creations, Muzaffarabad shared their
own experiences of organizational development, hurdles in it and the skills, knowledge, and attitude required to be
a successful entrepreneur. Mr. Asfand Yar and Mr. Syed Shane-Hayder, the students of CIIT Abbottabad were
provided the opportunity to share their experience under the title the “Budding Entrepreneurs”. Earlier Mr. Jamil
Anwar briefed the audience about the success story of MILES. The audience really appreciated the thought
provoking ideas and real life stories of the successful entrepreneurs and their style of management practices.
Mr. Ghalib Nishtar, President, Khushali Bank was the Chief Guest of the event. He appreciated the concept of MILES
and the activities being done by Department of Management Sciences, CIIT Abbottabad. He emphasized on the
creation of university-industry linkages. He highlighted the importance of microfinance, micro and SME sector
development and the role Khushali Bank is playing to overcome poverty in Pakistan.
Participating Universities
Sr. #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Name of University
CIIT Abbottabad
CIIT Sahiwal
University of Central Punjab, Lahore
Pak - IMS Lahore
Islamia University, Bahawalpur
Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi
Institute of Management Studies (Peshawar University)
Gift University, Gujranwala
Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, Islamabad
University of Faisalabad
Hazara University, Haripur Campus
Total
Number of Participant
06
06
03
03
03
03
03
03
03
03
03
36
Highlights
The Cash Prizes for first three positions were sponsored by SMEDA and the prizes for the best presentation and
consolation were sponsored by De-Opera Consultants, Abbottabad.
Excellent, well organized, well managed, and excellent participation. More focus on time management,
involvement of business stakeholders, and market ideas for practical implementation is required…
Views of Syed Azhar Hussain Shah, Regional Operational Chief, National Bank of Pakistan,
Abbottabad….
The inception of the event is appreciated and more events of the nature must be held to improve the academics.
Such events also increase the level of confidence of the students …
Views of Mr. Khawar Waseem, AVP/Branch Manager Meezan Bank Limited, City branch
Abbottabad
NEWSLETTER
11
APRIL - JUNE 2010
12
World Environment Day 2010
Workshop on Computers and Current Environmental Issues
26 May 2010
Department of Environmental Sciences, 8 June 2010
World Environment Day is the people's day for
documentary prepared by BES-07 students that
environmental action. Under the theme 'Many
covered various environmental issues of Pakistan.
Species, One Planet, One Future', this year's
Four students from ES
event celebrated the incredible
department presented their
diversity of life on Earth as part of the The event served as a study and research work
2 0 1 0 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Ye a r o f p l a t f o r m f o r s c i e n c e regarding water quality,
Biodiversity. This year's global host,
deforestation, and impacts of
students from various local imperviousness etc.
Rwanda a country of exceptional
biodiversity that has made huge schools of Abbottabad and The function also served as a
strides on environmental protection Mansehra to participate in platform for science students
led the celebrations with three days of various competitions like from various local schools of
keynote events.
poster competition, Essay Abbottabad and Mansehra to
In CIIT Abbottabad, 8 June 2010 was
participate in various
writing and skit competition competitions like poster
celebrated as the World Environmental
Day. The ceremony was inaugurated
competition, Essay writing and
by Director CIIT Abbottabad, Dr. Khan
skit competitions. The event
Gul Jadoon.
hosted a handicraft competition (made from
Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad Raja, Head, Department of
recyclable/ used materials. The students from invited
Environmental Sciences, CIIT Abbottabad welcomed
schools and colleges of the region took active part in
respected guests and threw light on the importance
the exhibition. The event was successfully concluded
of the day. Worthy Director CIIT Abbottabad, Dr.
with prizes and certificate distribution among
Khan Gul Jadoon stressed the audience to work for
winners as token of appreciation. Overall, the
the conservation of natural resources especially
performance of students from Sky Public School
plants. He said that the function should not be limited
Mansehra was very brilliant who won first prize in Skit
to just one day celebration; instead every body
and Essay writing competitions. Second and third
should actively participate in this noble cause.
prizes were won by Government Girls School No. 1
An appealing and an inspiring icon of the day was a
Abbottabad and Pine Hills Public School Abbottabad.
A workshop on “Computers and Current
Environmental Issues” was held in COMSATS
Institute of Information Technology (CIIT)
Abbottabad on 26 May 2010 in Azeem Shahzad
Memorial Hall. Dr. Jammes Crabe from University of
Bedfordshire gave a detailed presentation on the
issue. A large number of students and faculty
members from various departments of CIIT
Abbottabad attended the event.
Dr. Jammes
C r a b b e
apprised the
audience of
his research
work. He
talked about
g l o b a l
warming,
stony corals,
ecosystem's
connectivity
with coral reefs, photosynthetic
metabolism of plants, symbiosis and
various other related things. He said
that coral reefs are a valuable natural
resource and are a source of medicine.
He told the audience that his research
includes working on coral growth
modeling and in-depth study of coral
reefs.
He said that scientists should ask the
policy makers to make every possible effort to
preserve the coral reefs. At the end, question answer
session was carried out in which participants asked
various questions.
A Study Tour to Thandyani
Exploring Plant Diversity in Native Environment
Later on, another workshop was arranged for the
Department of Environmental Sciences, 4 May 2010
On 4 May 2010 a study tour to Thandyani was made in order to study and examine the medicinal plants in their
natural habitat.
Many medicinal plants were introduced to student's knowledge by Dr. Maroof Shah who accompanied the students
of MS biotechnology. Dr. Amjad Hassan was also present.
The tour was highly recreational and educational. It was a healthy outdoor
activity and gave the students a chance to enjoy the greenery and natural
scenery along with studying various plant species, their characters and
properties.
NEWSLETTER
13
T h i s
workshop
w
a
s
followed by
another
meeting with faculty members of
Pharmacy Department and
Biotechnology Program, which was
presided over by Worthy Director,
Professor Dr. Khan Gul Jadoon. In
this meeting Professor Dr. Izhar
Hussain, Chairman, Pharmacy
Department introduced Dr. James
Crabbe with faculty members and
faculty members shared their field
of research with Dr. Crabbe. Professor Dr. Khan Gul
Jadoon thanked the guest and appreciated the
efforts of Dr. Crabbe for taking interest to develop
linkages among faculty members of CIIT with faculty
members of University of Bedfordshire.
Another feather in the Cap of Jewel of CIIT Abbottabad
Department of Electrical Engineering
Dr. Imdad Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of
Electrical Engineering, CIIT Abbottabad, has been
selected to be the “Official Recipient of XX Star
Laureate Award - 2009” and his name is included in
the prestigious important book “Galaxies of Who's
who in Pakistan 2009”.
After a thorough process of evaluation by a panel of
academia elite, headed by Chief Judge Dr. Asadullah
Kazi, worthy Vice Chancellor of Isra University
Hyderabad, Dr. Imdad Khan has been selected for
conferring of the national level award in the arena of
“Research and quality education” and named “STAR
It also provided many diverse and new research project ideas to students.
students who wanted to explore opportunities for
higher studies in UK. Dr. James Crabbe gave a
presentation on University of Bedfordshire, its
Academic Departments, its Campuses, Research
Facilities, Academic Programs and different facilities
available for students etc. A large number of students
from various departments of the campus attended
the workshop. They asked various questions about
admission requirements and various other related
t h i n g s
necessary to
g
e
t
admission in
University of
Bedfordshir
e.
APRIL - JUNE 2010
Laureate 2009” amongst over 100 short listed
contestants from higher education community of
Pakistan.
Indeed it is a great honor for EE Department in
particular and for CIIT Abbottabad in general.
Dr. Imdad is one of the pioneer members of CIIT
Abbottabad community and has always brought
repute to the Institution in many avenues like
completion of PhD in minimum stipulated time frame
from well reputed University of Birmingham, UK,
along with a high number of research publications in
quality international journals.
14
Delegation from CIIT Abbottabad attended
DISASTER MANAGEMENT EXHIBITION-2010 in Peshawar
Department of Environmental Sciences, 8 June 2010
Department of Management Sciences, 5 April 2010
Main objective of the exhibition was to develop linkages among different
institutes and the governmental and non-governmental bodies
A delegation from the Department of Environmental
was attended by more than 800 persons including
sciences, CIIT Abbottabad including Mr. Asim
personnel from various government and nonJehangir Khan, Dr. Romana Khan, Miss Saima and MS
governmental organizations. Students of various
students of ES including Maria sabeen, Gulrukh Malik,
universities, colleges and schools were the main
Shabana Kausar, Syed Hasnain Shah, Shahzad Gul
attendees of the Exhibition.
and Fawad Habib attended an exhibition on 8 June
The main objective of the exhibition was to develop
2010 organized by Center for Disaster Preparedness
linkages among different institutes and the
and management (CDPM) at
governmental and non-governmental
U n i ve r s i ty o f Pe s h awa r i n
bodies. One of the main objective was
c o l l a b o ra t i o n w i t h G e r m a n
to equip people with the knowledge
technical Corporation (GTZ).
and skills that will help minimize the
The CDPM has initiated the
damages and miseries of disasters, as
country's ever academic program
has been experienced by the people
regarding Disaster Management in
during the earthquake of 2005.
the shape of a postgraduate
Provision of a platform for the mutual
diploma in disaster preparedness
sharing of ideas, raising awareness
and management (DPM) which is
among the community and students,
very much overwhelmed by the Participants from CIIT Abbottabad and publicizing the efforts etc. were
academia and the professionals working in the field.
some of the other interests of CDPM development of
The CDPM is also aiming at the launch of M.Phil and
coordination.
PhD programs which would be more specialized
Team of CIIT Abbottabad explored new portals of
research based programs in the field of disaster
knowledge and got a know how about the current
management.
stratifies made for disaster management. A stall was
The one-day Disaster Management Exhibition started
also displayed there to share the researches and
at 9:00 AM at the University of Peshawar and
activities being carried out at CIIT Abbottabad. They
continued till 5:00 PM. This event, which was unique
also visited different stalls of ERRA, UNHCR , GTZ,
in nature in its field was applauded by many of the
PASTIC and Al-Khidmat foundation to establish a
stakeholders of Disaster Management Field. The
linkage development with them.
exhibition was successful as a consequence of active
At the end, Souvenirs of memorandum were also
involvement and participation of many local, national
given to the guests by Azmat Hayat Kham, Vice
and international organizations in it. The exhibition
Chancellor, University of Peshawar.
Dr. Qaisar Mahmood has been appointed as
Coordinator of Graduate Students of Environmental Sciences
Dr. Qaisar Mahmood, Assistant Professor,
Department of Environmental Sciences, CIIT
Abbottabad has been appointed as new Coordinator
of the graduate students of Environmental Sciences
Department. At the moment, Department of
Environmental Sciences is running four programmes
i.e. Environmental Sciences, Earth Sciences, Water &
Sanitation, and Biotechnology. It was a huge burden
on Dr. Amjad Hassan to deal so many graduate
students. In view of this managerial problem, the
coordination was divided among Dr. Amjad Hassan
( B i o t e c h n o l o g y ) , D r. Q a i s a r M a h m o o d
(Environmental Sciences) and Dr. Tahir Amin
(WatSan). It is hoped that all coordinators will work
efficiently to solve the problems of graduate students
of ES department.
Dr. Ishtiaq Khan Jadoon has been appointed as
new Chairman of Department of Environmental Sciences
Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan Jadoon took over the charge
of Chairman, Department of Environmental Sciences
after the transfer of Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Farooqui
NEWSLETTER
One day training on Business Plan
Development & Presentation
to CIIT Lahore campus. Dr. Ishtiaq Khan Jadoon has
vast teaching and research experience. His area of
interest is Geology.
15
A one day training program
for Business Plan
Development and
Presentations was arranged
by the Department of
Management Science, CIIT
Abbottabad on 5 April 2010 in
collaboration with Small and
Medium Enterprise
Development Authori ty
(SMEDA). This workshop was
a part of an ongoing dialogue
between these two
institutions to develop closer ties and inculcate an
entrepreneural attitude among students of business
studies. The participants of the workshop were BBA &
MBA students of CIIT Abbottabad who
were 22 in number.
Mr. Sarmad Hussain Khan, the Manager
and Mr. M. Kamran Khan, Regional
Business Coordinator from SMEDA
acted as the resource persons.
Professor Dr. Syed Amjad Farid Hasnu
(On behalf of Head of Department)
awarded the “Participation Certificates”
to all the participants of the workshop.
He thanked SMEDA for showing their
interest in this workshop and
appreciated the efforts of Syed Afzal
Shah, Mr. Salman Ahmad, Mr. Yasir bin Tariq, Jamil
Anwar and Syed Tauseef Shah for helping in
organizing such a fruitful event.
Library Information Services
Library Orientation Classes
Three library orientation classes for the MS students
of different disciplines were arranged by the Library
staff of the COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology (CIIT), Abbottabad, under the
supervision of Deputy Librarian. Objective of
arranging these orientation classes was to promote
HEC Digital Library Program, e-Books, ISI web of
Knowledge and Library services. These orientation
sessions proved to be very productive for the
participants. Participants were of the view that they
learnt many useful things from these sessions and
will implement the knowledge and information
acquired from these sessions in their research work.
World Book and Copyright Day
The Library Information services celebrated World
Book and Copyright Day on 23 April 2010. Professor
Dr. Khan Gul Jadoon, Director CIIT Abbottabad
inaugurated the event. All heads of Departments,
faculty members and a large number of students
attended the event.
The exhibition comprised the following two events:
1. Library Mounted Book Exhibition organized by
Library Information Services
2. Book Fair arranged by National Book Foundation,
Abbottabad.
The faculty and students took keen interest in both
events and purchased books for personal use on
discounted rates.
APRIL - JUNE 2010
Orientation/Launching of New Oxford
Advanced Learner's Dictionary- 8th Edition
On 14 June 2010, Oxford University Press, Karachi
organized “Orientation/ Launching ceremony of New
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary- 8th Edition” in
collaboration with Library Information Services, CIIT
Abbottabad. The event was held in Azeem Shahzad
Memorial Hall, CIIT Abbottabad. Professor Dr. Khan
Gul Jadoon, Director CIIT Abbottabad was the chief
Guest of the event. Director Studies, PMA and
Principals of renowned Educational Institutes were
also present at this occasion. A large number of
faculty members and students of CIIT Abbottabad
also attended the event.
First meeting of Library Management
Committee
On 15 June 2010, the first meeting of Library
Management committee was held in the Library
Research room. Dr.Qazi Najam-us-Saqib, Advisor,
Department of Pharmacy was the convener of the
committee. Deputy Librarian gave a comprehensive
presentation about the existing library services and
enlightened the participants about the future
planning being done by Library staff, for the
improvement of the library information services in
the campus. The committee approved some
requirements of urgent concern for library.
16
5 Days Master Trainers Workshop on Testing and Assessment
NADRA Awareness Campaign
National Database and Registration Authority NADRA is
a governmental agency which has rendered
tremendous services for the general public. The focal
responsibility of NADRA is the registration of Pakistani
citizens for the purpose of good governance. NADRA
planned to launch a countryside awareness campaign
especially targeting youth, an important segment of the
society. In this countrywide campaign, thirteen HEC
selected social sciences departments were also
included. These departments have been selected by
HEC on the recommendations of National Committee
on Development of Social Sciences, Arts and
Humanities under the project titled “Development &
Strengthening of Selected Departments of
Social Sciences and Humanities in General
Universities of Pakistan”.
Through this campaign, awareness seminars are
planned to be conducted and on spot registration
facility is also scheduled to be provided at the selected
universities. This awareness activity would educate and
motivate young citizens to be registered with national
database. The students would also get information
about career opportunities and other business activities
offered by NADRA epically for the youth.
It is also worth mentioning that such collaborations
with other R&D organizations are being established and
creation of new linkages would be very beneficial for
selected departments. Mr. Tariq Malik, Deputy
Chairman NADRA graced the seminar as the Chief
Guest. Mr. Murtaza Noor, Program
M a n a g e r, H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n
Commission (HEC) was also present at
the occasion. A meeting was held in
Conference Room of Administration
Block of COMSATS Institute of
Information Technology (CIIT) at
10:00 AM in which all Heads of the
Departments and Senior
A d m i n i s t ra t i v e S t a f f o f C I I T
Abbottabad were present. Mr. Kamran
Hashmi, Manager Coordination &
Planning, gave a detailed presentation
on the CIIT Abbottabad Campus. This was followed by
another presentation made by Dr. Bilal Zaka, Incharge
CITC, in which he enlightened the guests about CITC,
its services and national and international
collaborations. Mr. Tariq Malik lauded the services being
provided by CIIT Abbottabad campus and CITC. He
suggested that CITC must go for more international
projects in order to earn more revenue for the campus.
At 11:30 AM, a seminar was held at Azeem Shahzad
Memorial Hall. All faculty members, administrative staff
and a large number of students were present in the
event. Mr. Shahid Masood, Lecturer, Department of
Management Sciences, CIIT Abbottabad, welcomed all
the guests and introduced the two invited guests to the
audience. Mr. Murtaza Noor while addressing the
NEWSLETTER
5 April 2010
audience commended the efforts of CIIT Abbottabad
for always being in the forefront in rendering all
possible support to HEC and other organization for
organizing such seminars in CIIT Abbottabad and
thanked CIIT Abbottabad for its warm hospitality. He
told the participants that CIIT Abbottabad campus is
the first among all campuses of CIIT where NADRA
Awareness Campaign has been initiated.
This was followed by a presentation made by Mr. Tariq
Malik, Deputy Chairman, NADRA. He made a detailed
presentation on NADRA that included different
programs of NADRA, its overview, infrastructure,
registration centers, geographical distribution of
employees, static registration centers and mobile
centers, products, IDP cash disbursement program,
roadmap of NADRA for the future, revenue streams,
and the challenges and prospects for NADRA etc. He
told the audience that NADRA has 13000 employees. It
is the supreme national institution of Pakistan having
the largest biometric database system. It has 354
registration centers all over Pakistan. He stated that
NADRA is in process of opening its registration centers
where only women will be employed in order to
increase the employment rate of women in Pakistan. He
also encouraged the female students to apply for
employment and internships in NADRA. He told the
audience that NADRA was declared as one of the Best
Cash Disbursement organization by the world
economists in the Economist Magazine which indeed is
a big achievement. He further stated
that NADRA wants to improve
customer experience and wants to
improve the employment conditions of
Pakistan. He said that NADRA has not
taken a penny form the government
and is running on its own basis.
He stated that NADRA sees itself at the
center stage of transforming
government's citizen centric programs
by introducing identity based egovernment solutions. He sated that
registration of adult population has
spiked up by 40%. NADRA has registered 87% of adult
population, thus making it possible that next elections
can be held on ID card basis. In last two years, women
registration has spiked up to 74%. On spot registration
facility was also available at the campus for those youth
who did not have identity card.
He lauded the efforts of CIIT Abbottabad in the fields of
information technology and management sciences. He
highlighted the importance of registration. This was
followed by a question answer session in which
participants asked various questions. Dr. Shahid
Khattak, Head Department of Electrical Engineering,
CIIT Abbottabad thanked the guests for sparing their
precious time. At the end, Shields were presented to
the guests.
17
7-11 June, 2010
A 5 Days Master Trainers Workshop on Testing and
Assessment, for the faculty members of the public
sector universities and colleges of Hazara Division
successfully concluded at COMSATS Institute of
Information Technology, Abbottabad on 11 June
2010. The workshop was conducted by Department
of Chemistry, CIIT Abbottabad in Collaboration with
the Learning & Innovation Division,
Higher Education Commission,
Islamabad. The main objective of the
Workshop was to equip the faculty on
use of different Testing and Assessment
tools with special emphasis on
Semester System Guidelines duly
prepared by the HEC. Besides, another
specific objective was to enable the
participants in the area of developing
different Assessment Tools and
maintaining Course Files etc.
The participants were representing the following
different campuses of the Universities and Colleges
of Hazara Division:
!
COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology Abbottabad (Host)
!
Hazara University, Dhodial, Mansehra
!
Hazara University, Havellian Campus
!
Hazara University, Haripur Campus
!
Govt. Postgraduate College No. 1
Abbottabad
!
Govt. Postgraduate College Mansehra
!
Govt. Postgraduate College Haripur.
The resource person from Agah Khan University of
Karachi namely Mrs. Narjis Abbas, Mr. Dawar Shah
and Mr.Javaid Chaudhary imparted their knowledge
and tried their level best to produce the master
trainers on the most significant area in a short span
of time.
Prof. Dr. Khan Gul Jadoon, Director CIIT Abbottabad
graced the opening ceremony as the Chief Guest. He
welcomed the guests, resource persons and
participants. In his inauguration remarks, he
narrated that the 5 day Master Trainers workshop on
Testing and Assessment at CIIT Abbottabad would
provide an in-depth analysis of the policy guidelines
prepared by the HEC on Semester System
Examination with respect to Testing and Assessment
according to International practices. He whole
heartedly extended all the available facilities during
their stay at COMSATS.
Mr. Muhammad Junaid, Assistant Director, Training,
Administration & Coordination of HEC presented
briefing on the objectives of holding such faculty
development workshops at national level. He
APRIL - JUNE 2010
stressed upon the need of inducting and improving
Semester System with course file implementation in
all institutions of higher education in Pakistan and
appreciated the efforts made by the Universities for
implementing the same policy guidelines in all the
institutions of higher learning.
In her welcome address, Prof. Dr. Rehana Rashid,
Chairperson, Department of Chemistry
and Convener of the Workshop advised
the participants to participate more in
such sort of activities and asked HEC to
organize more workshops in different
areas like development projects and
faculty development.
After the opening ceremony, the formal
proceedings started. On 11 June 2010,
the closing ceremony was celebrated
after the successful completion of the
workshop.
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Dr. Khan Gul Jadoon,
Director CIIT Abbottabad and the Chief Guest of the
ceremony emphasized that improved quality
teaching is the need of our education system as it will
help country to cope with present circumstances of
turmoil and pressures. He also stated that Testing
and Assessment Workshops must be arranged time
to time by the HEC to introduce and equip the faculty
members not only with latest assessment and testing
techniques to maintain the international standards
but also to compete at all levels. These programs
provide forum of fruitful discussions and increase the
opportunities of learning and sharing; he added.
Prof. Dr. Rehana Rashid, Chairperson, Department of
Chemistry and Convener of the Workshop
congratulated and appreciated the efforts of LID/HEC
in conducting such mega event in the current
situation and showed her commitment in utilizing the
energies in the best possible way. She also delivered
vote of thanks.
The participants of the Workshop commented on the
effective components of the training that ought to be
implemented at the elementary level. They paid their
gratitude to CIIT Abbottabad for providing excellent
learning opportunity through learned expertise.
Ms. Sadia Shahbaz, Assistant Director, represented
Learning innovation Division of HEC. She enlightened
the participants about the achievements of HEC in
general and LI division in particular. She presented
the elaborated report on all activities that were
carried out during the 5 days workshop.
In the end, certificates were given to 29 Master
Trainers, the organizers and the coordinators.
18
Workshop on Use of
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS)
for Social and Economic Development of Pakistan
Department of Computer Science, 20 May 2010
A one day workshop on “Use of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTS) for Social and
Economic Development of Pakistan” was held in CIIT
Abbottabad on 20 May 2010. The workshop was
organized by Department of Computer Science, CIIT
Abbottabad. Key note speaker at the event was Mr.
Ammar Hussain Jaffri, Chief Coordinator of Pakistan
Social Association, and Ex-Director of cyber wing of
FIA. Other speakers included Mr. Shafqat Ellahi,
Provincial Coordinator Pakistan Social Association,
Haji Abdul Nabi, Provincial President of Sarhad Agri
and Rural Development Organization and Abdus
Sami Qazi, Bhombal International Karachi.
Participants included representatives from academic,
non governmental and other social and agricultural
sector organizations in addition to participants from
various departments of CIIT.
attention from the people at the helm of affairs. In
the countries of the region like Bangladesh and India,
young leadership had come out with the idea of
introducing the tool of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) to raise the
economical and social level of the villages. Pakistani
farmer like his counterparts in the subcontinent
suffers the same problems as they are suffering.
Recently some people of the field of ICT have thought
of following suit and the work shop was an effort in
that direction.
Discussions were focused on
betterment of villagers in general and
farmers in particular, strengthening of
agriculture & dynamism in major chunk
of country population.
Speakers were of the view that Information and
Communication Technology can be an effective tool
by which villagers can get latest information relating
to their field and prepare themselves well in time so
as to get maximum profit. Internet can provide us
tremendous information on any subject, may it be
education, healthcare, weather
forecast, information on latest
agriculture engineering, seed varieties,
fertilizers, market trends in inputs and
outputs, jobs and vocations etc.
In Pakistan when we think of a village
population, farmers come to our mind,
though there may be some villages with
no farmers at all. Successive
governments have tried to improve the lot of farmers
in various ways primarily through increasing the
agricultural production. The other factors
encompassing farmers' lives did not draw due
A farmer, if well informed about the
factors affecting his production and
marketing can overcome his problems
and earn more profit. There is no
system on ground through which a farmer can have
access to the desired information, for example
weather forecast, price trend of inputs, the trend of
market forces near and far.
FAMILY TRIP OF CIIT PHARMACY FACULTY TO NARAN
Department of Pharmacy, 05-06 June 2010
The Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS Institute of
Information Technology (CIIT) Abbottabad
organized a two days family trip to Naran, under the
Chairmanship of Prof. Dr Izhar Hussain and by the
organization of Dr Taous Khan. Families of all the
faculty members of the department joined this
memorable trip, which started on Saturday 5 June
2010 and ended on Sunday 6 June 2010.
enjoyed this trip a lot and wished to have many more
trips like this in future as well.
During this trip, together with enjoying the heart
touching scenes of the beautiful Kaghan valley, some
faculty members benefitted with the identification
and collection of medicinal plants of the valley.
Together with visiting Naran and Jalkhad, all the
faculty members and their families also got the
chance to visit one of the most beautiful lakes of the
World i.e. Jheel Saif-ul-Malook. Everybody on board
NEWSLETTER
19
Three Days Academic Retreat at CIIT Abbottabad for
HEC Approved PhD Supervisors
3-5 June, 2010
A three days academic retreat for HEC approved
supervisors was held at CIIT Abbottabad from 3-5
June 2010. The event was organized by Higher
Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad, Pakistan in
collaboration with CIIT Abbottabad.
In the inaugural session, Mr. Mohammad Murtaza
Noor, the organizer of the event, told the participants
that this is the second countrywide workshop
exclusively arranged for HEC approved supervisors.
He said that the workshop is being attended by
faculty members belonging to six Universities of
Lahore, Abbottabad and Mansehra. Continuing, he
stated that the main objective of the academic
retreat includes identification of the problems,
obstacles and opportunities in PhD supervision
process.
Prof. Dr. Khan Gul Jadoon, Director CIIT Abbottabad,
in his welcome address thanked all participants for
sparing their time and
attending the event. He
said that it is an honor for
CIIT Abbottabad to have
such qualified persons
gathered under one roof.
He applauded the efforts of
HEC for promoting higher
education in Pakistan.
Dr. Syed Mehmood Raza,
Advisor Quality Assurance
& Learning Innovation, HEC
said that HEC is committed
to promote quality research
and teaching in Pakistan. In
this regard, a number of opportunities are being
offered by HEC for faculty members and researchers
including indigenous/foreign PhD scholarships,
fellowships, research and travel grant facilities, short
and long term faculty development/exchange
programs and post doctorate fellowships etc. He
gave a comprehensive presentation on HEC, its
establishment, objectives, strategic aims, HEIs in
Pakistan, total number of universities in Pakistan,
enrollment in universities, distribution of approved
project cost, faculty members with and without
PhD's, discipline wise PhDs produced, strategy for
faculty development, implementation plan for faculty
development program, post doctoral fellowship
programs, international distribution of HEC scholars,
R&D programs and projects, Research grant program
and academic linkages etc.
Professor Dr. Sohail H. Naqvi, Executive Director HEC
interacted with participants of the workshop through
video conferencing while Ms. Noor Amna Malik,
APRIL - JUNE 2010
Director General Learning Innovation HEC
moderated the session. Professor Dr. Sohail H. Naqvi
said that HEC supervisors have to play a vital role for
promotion of research culture in Pakistan. Research
topics should have relevance to the socio-economic
development and should address the community
problems being faced by citizens of Pakistan. He
appreciated the idea of publishing a guide book for
the supervisors. Miss Noor Amna Malik, while
addressing the participants in this video conference
said that end of this workshop will be the beginning of
new developments.
Professor Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Prof. Dr Shahida
Hasnain, Prof. Dr. Usman Mustafa and Munir Ahmed
Deputy Director HEC conducted different sessions
and gave very enlightening presentations on role and
responsibility of a research supervisor, characteristics
of a good supervisor, supervisor-student relationship
and various other related
things that should be kept
in mind while supervising a
research student. Each
session was followed by
question answer session.
The participants visited
U n i ve r s i ty o f H a z a ra
Mansehra where Professor
Dr. Syed Sakhawat Shah,
Vice Chancellor, Hazara
University briefed the
participants about the
various academic
programs, institutional
facilities, linkages with other international and
national departments and research contribution by
the scholars and faculty members of Hazara
University.
During the third day of workshop, participants were
divided into two groups i.e. Social Sciences Group
and Natural Sciences Group. Participants of both
groups carried out detailed discussions on the
problems that act as major hindrances in PhD studies
and problems in achieving timely PhD degree etc.
During the closing ceremony, Professor Dr. Iftikhar A.
Raja, Head, Department of Environmental Sciences,
CIIT Abbottabad, on behalf of Prof. Dr Khan Gul
Jadoon, Director, CIIT Abbottabad, thanked all
participants for sparing their precious time and
attending the workshop. He said that the role of HEC
in promoting higher education in Pakistan is
commendable. At the end of the workshop Dr. Syed
Mahmood Raza distributed the certificates among
the participants.
20
RESEARCH
List of Published, Submitted and Accepted
Research Papers
NEWSLETTER
25
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26
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28
RESEARCH NEWS
Book Published by Dr. Syed Tauqir A. Sherazi
Department of Chemistry
Dr. Syed Tauqir A. Sherazi, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, CIIT Abbottabad has published a book
entitled “Novel and Inexpensive Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Fuel Cells”. He has the honor of being the first
faculty member from the Department of Chemistry, CIIT Abbottabad who is the author of a book of international
standard published from Germany. The book is available online at the following link:
Http://www.bod.ch/index.php?id=3435&objk_id=350503.
The CIIT Abbottabad's family extends many warm wishes to him for this great achievement.
Dr. Taous Khan, Dr Afsar Khan and Dr. Syed Tauqir A. Sherazi have been selected as HEC
approved supervisors
Dr. Taous Khan, Dr. Afsar Khan and Dr. Syed Tauqir A. Sherazi, Assistant Professors, CIIT Abbottabad have been
selected as HEC approved supervisors. They are actively involved in research work and have published various
international research papers in journals of high impact.
Dr. Sultan Hussain and Dr. Asghar Khan participate in an International
Conference
Department of Mathematics, 7-12 March 2010
Dr. Sultan Hussain and Dr. Asghar Khan participated in an International Conference on Mathematical Inequalities
and Application 2010 held at Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences G.C. University, Lahore from 7-12
March 2010. Dr. Sultan presented a paper entitled "Estimate for the Discrete Time Hedging Error of the American
Option on a Dividend-paying Stock" while Dr. Asghar Khan presented his work entitled " Characterizations of regular
ordered semigroup in terms of (alpha, beta)-fuzzy generalized bi-ideals".
Another Research Project of Chemistry Department approved
Department of Chemistry
Another research project of Chemistry Department has been approved. Details of the project are as under:
Title: Determination of Pesticides and Heavy metals in meat organs (0.2 milloin)
Principal Investigator: Mr. Jamil Khan
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Abida Kalsoom Khan
Summary
This project will investigate the total concentration of the pesticides and elements [As, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb,
Se and Zn] in organs meat, intestine, and liver of cow and goat, as well as in broiler, local breed chicken and eggs in
different foods Hazara Division, Pakistan. The analyses of elements would be determined by Atomic Absorption
Spectrometry, HPLC and GCMS by using microwave digestion and solid phase extraction techniques. According to
literature, there would be significant variations among pesticides and metals accumulation levels of the species and
their tissues. New data would be provided on the total pesticides and metals contents of a variety of foods in Hazara
Division, Pakistan, which is important for making exposure estimates. In this respect, short-term analyses will give a
good idea of potential hazard.
NEWSLETTER
29
APRIL - JUNE 2010
30
Department of Environmental Sciences
ABSTRACTS
Phytoremediation potential of Arundo donax in
arsenic-contaminated synthetic wastewater
Department of Management Sciences
Inflation, Unemployment and the NAIRU in Pakistan (1975-2009)
Khalid Zaman, Muhammad Mushtaq Khan, Mehboob Ahmad and Waseem Ikram
In a developing country like Pakistan, Phillips Curve
approach is employed on a data set of 35 years
starting from 1975-2009, to examine the relationship
between inflation and unemployment. There is a
non-proportional negative relationship between
inflation and unemployment (if unemployment is
reduced than there is a rising price level in the
economy). Non-parametric estimates of the NAIRU
are calculated. Results are in the range of
3.219.01%. There is a long-run and casual
relationship between inflation and unemployment
over the above mentioned period in Pakistan. There
is a transitory relationship (shocks) in the short-run,
while there is a permanent relationship (shocks) in
the long-run. By looking at the relationship
established, one can forecast for the next 10 years,
that there will be an opposite relationship between
both variables. This paper documents an empirical
evidence for the existence of the Phillips curve in
Pakistan.
Nosheen Mirza, Qaisar Mahmood, Arshid Pervez, Raza Ahmad, Robina Farooq,
Mohammad Maroof Shah and Muhammad Rashid Azim
The present study reports the potential of Arundo
donax for phytoextraction of arsenic from synthetic
wastewater. A. donax plants were grown under
greenhouse conditions in pots containing a nutrient
solution amended with increasing doses of As (0, 50,
100, 300, 600 and 1000 µg L_1) for 21 days in a
completely randomized design. Shoot and roots dry
matter production, growth parameters, arsenic and
nutrient tissue concentrations were measured at the
end of the experiment. Increasing As concentration
in nutrient solution caused an increase in shoot and
root biomass without toxicity symptoms in A. donax
growing under a range of As concentration from 50 to
600 µg L_1. Elevated oxidative stress was observed
at As supplied level of 1000 lg L_1. The As doses up to
600 µg L_1 did not affect the growth of A. donax. It is
suggested that A. donax plants may be employed to
treat contaminated waters containing arsenic
concentrations up to 600 µg L_1.
An Empirical Analysis of Growth, Inequality and
Poverty Triangle in Pakistan: Cointegration Approach (1964-2006)
Low-Cost Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Options for Use in Pakistan- A review
Khalid Zaman, Muhammad Mushtaq Khan, Mehboob Ahmad and Waseem Ikram
Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhatti, Qaisar Mahmood, Iftikhar Ahmad Raja, Amir Haider Malik,
Naim Rashid, Zahid Mahmood Khan and Farhana Maqbool
The relationship between growth, inequality and
poverty triangle (GIPÄ) has remained a topic of high
interest in development economics. The relationship
between growth, inequality and poverty has been
examined for Pakistan, through the bounds testing
technique, for a period of forty-three years w.e.f.
1964-2006. The results reveal that both variables
i.e. income distribution (I) and the lowest 20 percent
household income (G) have a positive impact on
overall poverty (P). Steady periods are found, which
influence poverty negatively. Co-integrated
relationship between poverty, inequality and growth
is established for long and short-runs period. There is
a short-run causality between economic growth and
income inequality over poverty in the above
discussed period.
Impact of Financial Development on Economic Growth in Pakistan
(1974-2007)
Zaheer Ahmed Swati and SAF Hasnu
This study empirically investigates the association
and causality of financial development and economic
growth. To ascertain the impact of financial
development on economic growth, using time series
data from 1974 to 2007, three alternative proxies for
financial development are selected and ADF, OLS and
Granger Causality tests are used. The results suggest
that the ratio of broad money to gross domestic
product and ratio of market capitalization to gross
domestic have significant positive marked degree of
association and ratio of private sector credit to gross
domestic has significant negative low degree of
association in relation to per capita income as a proxy
for economic growth. The results provide evidence of
bi-directional causality running between financial
development and economic growth.
The Use of Catchy Words- A Case Study from Pakistan
Rabiah Rustam
This research aims to investigate the use of catchy
words in communication which do not have any
standardized meaning. People who use such words
associate multiple meanings with them. The most
frequent users of these words are young and
educated people. Such words grab the attention of
the user as well as the audience. Because of
attractive nature, the use of catchy words is
increasing day by day. The youth prefers to use such
words in place of old and worn; out expressions. The
NEWSLETTER
research was conducted on the college as well as
university level students to find out the reasons of
using such words. The results demonstrate that such
words are mostly used by the youth who are
Intermediate and Bachelors level students.
Moreover, the use of such words varies with respect
to gender, medium, qualification, the meaning
associated with the words, status and the
relationships of the people using these words.
31
Pakistan has now essentially exhausted its available
water-resources and is on the verge of becoming a
water-deficit country. The per-capita water
availability has dropped from 5,600 m3 to 1,000 m3.
The public water-requirement has risen manifolds, as
population is increasing, industry is growing and we
are bringing more area under cultivation to meet the
increasing demand for agriculture-products. The
quality of groundwater and surface-water is low and
is further deteriorating because of unchecked
disposal of untreated municipal and industrial
wastewater and excessive use of fertilizers and
insecticides. This paper presents an overview of
various low-cost treatment options for the treatment
of municipal wastewater-treatment.
Department of Mathematics
High-Speed Cylindrical Collapse of Type 1 matter
Zahid Ahmad and Batool Imtiaz
In this paper, the cylindrical symmetric gravitational
collapse with anisotropic pressure has been
investigated using high-speed approximation
scheme. The collapsing speed of the fluid is assumed
very large. To see the effects of pressure, we have
used the equations of states for radial pressure and
tangential one with constants and positive. It is
observed that if the ratio of both the pressures
(tangential and radial pressures) to energy density is
bounded below by some positive value, the highspeed scheme fails. For vanishing case the highspeed scheme does not break down and as a result a
naked singularity forms in this case. For all the results
reduce to the perfect fluid case obtained by Nakao
and Morisawa [1].
Jumps in Financial Markets and Trading
Dr. Sultan Hussain
Usually the share price is a continuous function of
time, but some rare events, release of an unexpected
economic figure, major political changes or even a
natural disaster in a major economy, can lead to
brusque variations in prices. In such a situation there
is no perfect hedging of the option. Moreover, there is
APRIL - JUNE 2010
no longer possible to price options using a replicating
portfolio. It is possible to construct approximation
methods for the option value function and using
these approximations to construct hedging strategies
the value process of which uniformly approximate the
perfect hedging portfolio.
32
Location and Non-Location Based Ad-hoc
Routing Protocols under various Mobility Models
Department of Computer Science
Performance evaluation of fault tolerance
techniques in grid computing system
M. Jadoon, S.A. Madani, K. Hayat and S. Mahlknecht
Fiaz Gul Khan, Kalim Qureshi and Babar Nazir
As fault tolerance is the ability of a system to perform
its function correctly even in the presence of faults,
therefore, different fault tolerance techniques (FTTs)
are critical for improving the efficient utilization of
expensive resources in high performance grid
computing systems, and an important component of
grid workflow management system. This paper
presents performance evaluation of most commonly
used FTTs in grid computing system. In this study, we
considered different system centric parameters, such
as throughput, turnaround time, waiting time and
network delay for the evaluation of these FTTs. For
comprehensive evaluation we setup various
conditions in which we vary the average percentage
of faults in a system, along with different workloads
in order to find out the behavior of FTTs under these
conditions. The empirical evaluation shows that the
workflow level alternative task techniques have
performance priority on task level check-pointing
techniques. This comparative study will help to grid
computing researchers in order to understand the
behavior and performance of different FTTs in detail.
In this paper we present a performance evaluation
study of three fundamentally different ad-hoc routing
protocols using different mobility patterns with
special focus on three well-known performance
metrics, namely the throughput, the end-to-end
delay, and the packet loss. Simulations study is
carried out in a standard simulator that provides the
scalable simulation environment for wireless network
systems. The comparative study entails three
different protocols, namely the dynamic source
routing (DSR), the location-aided routing (LAR), and
the wireless routing protocol (WRP). The mobility
models employed in this study include the random
waypoint (RWP) mobility model, the reference point
group (RPG) mobility model, the Manhattan grid
(MG) mobility model, and the Gauss-Markov (GM)
mobility model. The results shows that the
performance metrics of ad-hoc routing protocols vary
significantly with the node mobility pattern. It
confirms that the speed, with which the node
changes its position, considerably affect the network
performance. Furthermore, it has been observed that
a location-based routing protocol shows quite a good
performance with various mobility patterns.
Hybrid Approach for Urdu Sentence Boundary Disambiguation
W. Anwar and Z. Rehman
A4S: A Data Hiding Strategy for 3D Visualization
K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière
We propose an adaptively synchronous scalable
spread spectrum (A4S) data-hiding strategy to
integrate disparate data, needed for a typical 3-D
visualization, into a single JPEG2000 format file.
JPEG2000 encoding provides a standard format on
one hand and the needed multiresolution for
scalability on the other. The method has the potential
of being imperceptible and robust at the same time.
While the spread spectrum (SS) methods are known
for the high robustness they offer, our data-hiding
strategy is removable at the same time, which
ensures highest possible visualization quality. The SS
embedding of the discrete wavelet transform (DWT)-
domain depth map is carried out in transform domain
YCrCb components from the JPEG2000 coding
stream just after the DWT stage. To maintain
synchronization, the embedding is carried out while
taking into account the correspondence of subbands.
Since security is not the immediate concern, we are
at liberty with the strength of embedding. This
permits us to increase the robustness and bring the
reversibility of our method. To estimate the maximum
tolerable error in the depth map according to a given
viewpoint, a human visual system (HVS)-based
psychovisual analysis is also presented.
Seamless Heterogeneous 3D Tessellation via
DWT Domain Smoothing and Mosaicking
K. Hayat, W. Puech, N. Islam and G. Gesquière
With today's geobrowsers, the tessellations are far
from being smooth due to a variety of reasons: the
principal being the light difference and resolution
heterogeneity. Whilst the former has been
extensively dealt with in the literature through classic
mosaicking techniques, the latter has got little
attention. We focus on this latter aspect and present
two DWT domain methods to seamlessly stitch tiles
of heterogeneous resolutions. The first method is
local in that each of the tiles that constitute the view,
is subjected to one of the three context-based
smoothing functions proposed for horizontal,
vertical, and radial smoothing, depending on its
localization in the tessellation. These functions are
applied at the DWT subband level and followed by an
NEWSLETTER
inverse DWT to give a smoothened tile. In the second
method, though we assume the same tessellation
scenario, the view field is thought to be of a sliding
window which may contain parts of the tiles from the
heterogeneous tessellation. The window is refined in
the DWT domain through mosaicking and smoothing
followed by a global inverse DWT. Rather than the
traditional sense, the mosaicking employed over here
targets the heterogeneous resolution. Perceptually,
this second method has shown better results than the
first one. The methods have been successfully
applied to practical examples of both the texture and
its corresponding DEM for seamless 3D terrain
visualization.
33
Sentence boundary identification is a preliminary
step for preparing a text document for Natural
Language Processing tasks e.g., machine translation,
POS tagging, text summarization and etc. We present
a hybrid approach for Urdu sentence boundary
disambiguation, comprising of unigram statistical
model and rule based algorithm. After implementing
this approach, while keeping training and testing
data different from each other, we obtained 99.48%
precision, 86.35% recall and 92.45% F1-Measure
and with same training and testing data, we obtained
99.36% precision, 96.45% recall and 97.89% F1Measure.
Department of Pharmacy
Effective double-ended chelating agents; Crystal structures of
N,N,N',N'-tetraacetyl diamino derivatives and their chelates
Christer B. Aakeröy, John Desper, Naheed Haque and
Izhar Hussain
Crystal structure determinations of six N,N,N',N'tetraacetyl diamino derivatives, N,N,N',N'-tetraacetyl
m-xylylenediamine 1, N,N,N',N'-tetraacetyl pxylylenediamine 2, N,N,N ' ,N'-tetraacetyl 1,5diaminonaphthalene 3, N,N,N',N'-tetraacetyl 1,4diaminocyclohexane 4, N,N,N',N'-tetraacetyl 1,4diaminobutane 5 and N,N,N',N'-tetraacetyl 1,8diaminooctane 6 have been carried out. In all these
compounds the anti-syni configuration, in each DAA
group, is preferred and the two DAA groups, at each
end of the extended ligand are coplanar with respect
APRIL - JUNE 2010
to one another. Further, the syntheses and crystal
structures of two metal complexes [Cu(N,N,N',N'tetraacetyl 1,4-diaminobutane)2(H2O)2](ClO4)2 5a
and [Zn(N,N,N',N'-tetraacetyl 1,6diaminohexane)2(H2O)2](ClO4)2 7 are also reported.
Single crystal analysis confirmed that the N,N,N',N'tetraacetyl diamino derivatives act as bis-chelating,
double-ended ligands. In an unbound state all the
tetraacetyl derivatives adopt the expected anti-syn
configuration but on complex formation this
configuration of the ligand changes to anti-anti
resulting in the formation of chelate complexes.
34
Antidiarrheal and spasmolytic activities of the Alstonia scholaris
crude extract are mediated through calcium channel blockade
This study was aimed to provide a pharmacological
basis to the medicinal use of Alstonia scholaris as an
antidiarrhoeal and antispasmodic by using in vivo and
in vitro techniques. In the in vivo study the crude
extract of Alstonia scholaris (As.Cr), which tested
positive for the presence of alkaloids, provided
3184% protection against castor oil-induced
diarrhoea in mice at 1001000 mg/kg doses, similar to
loperamide. In isolated rabbit jejunum preparation,
the As.Cr caused inhibition of spontaneous and high
K??(80 mM)-induced contractions, with respective
EC50 values of 1.04 (0.731.48) and 1.02 mg/mL
(0.561.84; 95% CI), thus showing spasmolytic
activity mediated possibly through calcium channel
blockade (CCB). The CCB activity was further
confirmed when pretreatment of the tissue with the
As.Cr (0.31 mg/mL) caused a rightward shift in the
Ca???concentration-response curves similar to
verapamil, a standard calcium channel blocker.
Loperamide also inhibited spontaneous and high
K??precontractions as well as shifted the Ca???CRCs to
the right. These results indicate that the crude
extract of Alstonia scholaris possesses antidiarrhoeal
and spasmolytic effects, mediated possibly through
the presence of CCB-like constituent(s) and this
study provides a mechanistic base for its medicinal
use in diarrhoea and colic.
F. Wahid, H. Jung, Taous Khan and Y. Y. Kim
of 11 cis-retinal from retinal pigment epithelium
(RPE) to the outer disc of the photoreceptors which
resulted in decreased regeneration time of
rhodopsin. In the spectral scan, red ginseng
treatment brings an increment in absorbance over
the whole spectral range (300-800 nm) with
maximum difference at around 500 nm. It is
concluded that red ginseng may be used to improve
visual process, and can potentially be used to treat
certain ophthalmic diseases.
Mannan A, Syed TN and Mirza B
NEWSLETTER
V. U. Ahmad, S. Bader, S. Arshad, A. Ahmed, Afsar Khan, S. Iqbal,
M. Rasheed, R. B. TareenBrauhenefloroside E and F
Two new acylated flavonol glycosides, 3-O-{[2-O-âD-glucopyranosyl]-3-[O-â-D-glucopyranosyl]-4-[(6O-p-coumaroyl)-O-â-D-glucopyranosyl]}-á-Lr h a m n o p y r a n o s y l - k a e m p f e r o l 7 - O - á - Lrhamnopyranoside and 3-O-{2-[(6-O-p-coumaroyl)O-â-Dglucopyranosyl]-3-[O-â-D-glucopyranosyl]-4[(6-O-p-coumaroyl)-O-â-D-glucopyranosyl]}-á-L-
r h a m n o p y r a n o s y l - k a e m p f e r o l 7 - O - á - Lrhamnopyranoside, trivially named as
brauhenefloroside E (1) and F (2), respectively, were
isolated from the fruits of Stocksia brauhica and their
structures were elucidated using spectroscopic
methods, including 2D NMRexperiments.
Assessment of selected organotin complexes
against plant pathogen fungi
The present study is aimed at assessing the water
quality index (WQI) for the surface and ground water
in the study area of Attock City, Punjab, Pakistan. This
has been determined by collecting 30 water samples
each from boreholes, municipal water supply and
Kabul River. For calculating the WQI, the following
parameters have been considered: temperature, pH,
effects of 2,4-D, pH of co-cultivation medium and
effects of cefotaxime in regeneration medium were
studied. An amount of 50mg/L each of kanamycin
and ampicillin was used to select the pure
Agrobacterium cultures and 500mg/L cefotaxime
along with 20mg/L kanamycin was used to select
transformed cells. Results concluded that one week
old leaf and root ex-plants of A. absinthium
inoculated with A. tumefaciens for 5 minutes and cocultivated for 3-4 days in B5 medium with 0.5mg/L of
2, 4-D at media pH 5.8 showed 100% transformation
efficiency.
35
conductivity, TDS, DO, nitrate and sulphate. The high
value of WQI has been found to be mainly from the
higher values of nitrates, while other parameters in
all samples were in safe limits. The analysis reveals
that the surface and ground water of the area needs
some degree of treatment before consumption
NEWS BITES
COLORFUL “SPRING FESTIVAL 2010” ORGANIZED
BY FUNKADA AT CIIT, ABBOTTABAD
3 May 2010
FUNKADA arranged “Spring Festival 2010” on 3 May
2010 at CIIT Abbottabad. It was an activity meant
for entertainment and recreation for students.
There were various stalls arranged by students
having cold drinks, games, song dedication, flower
dedication, decoration, mehndi, fast food etc. Kite
flying was also a part of this activity and a stall of kites
was also arranged.
Factors affecting Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated
transformation of Artemisia absinthium L
The present work was aimed to study various factors
affecting Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated
transformation of Artemisia absinthium L.
Agrobacterium strain C58C1 harboring binary vector
p35SGUSINT having kanamycin resistance gene
(NPTII) as selectable marker and â-glucuronidase
(GUS) as a reporter gene was used for
transformation. Factors affecting transformation
efficiency, such as age and type of explants, presence
of ampicillin and kanamycin in Agrobacterium
inoculum, concentration of Agrobacterium, infection
and co-cultivation time period of Agrobacterium,
Acylated flavonol glycosides from Stocksia brauhica Linn. Magn
Jamil Khan, Rehana Rashid, Naim Rashid, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhatti,
Nadeem Bukhari, Muhammad Aurangzaib Khan and Qaisar Mahmood
Effects of Red Ginseng extracts on visual sensitivity
and ERG b-wave of bullfrog's eye
The purpose of the present study was to investigate
the effect of red ginseng (Panax ginseng) extracts on
the visual process in bullfrog's eye. The results
obtained indicated that both dark-adapted and lightadapted ERG b-wave peak amplitude was increased
with red ginseng treatment. Furthermore, the ERG
sensitivity was elevated by 1.4 log units of light
intensity. It was found that red ginseng acts as a
retinal neural antagonist but not as a GABA receptor
antagonist. Red ginseng improved the alcohol
dehydrogenase activity and speeded up the delivery
Department of Chemistry
The activity started at 2:00 PM and lasted till 7:00 PM.
Dr. Khan Gul Jadoon, Director CIIT Abbottabad
inaugurated the ceremony and visited stalls. He
appreciated the efforts of FUNKADA team and the
university students for organizing this healthy and
recreational activity at the campus.
The activity provided a peaceful and an entertaining
environment for the students and helped promoting
the positive image of university to outside world.
Dr. Bahadar Nawab Khattak
Head Department of Development Studies
Visits Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
8-20 June 2010
The one week visit to Norway was carried out on the
invitation of the Norwegian University of Life
Sciences (UMB). The travel and other costs of the
visit were financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Norway. The objective of the visit was to teach in
the summer course, on “sustainable sanitation in
developing countries” and discussing the ongoing
APRIL - JUNE 2010
NOMA program and other institutional collaboration.
The intensive teaching in the summer course was
imparted as per plan and both the students and
faculty appreciated the contribution of CIIT
Abbottabad. Along with the teaching, series of follow
up meetings on institutional collaboration were held.
36
HOW CAN WE REDUCE THE RISKS OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR
EVENTS?
ARTICLES
Ubiquitous Computing: The Future
By: Dr. Abdul Jabbar Shah
Department of Pharmacy
By Shahzad Ali
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science
Computing, over the past 50 years, has gone through
two distinct phases: the mainframe era and the
personal computing era. The third phase has begun
and you may have not even noticed - that is the way it
is supposed to be. Ubiquitous means existing or
being everywhere at the same time, i.e. constantly
encountered. Ubiquitous computing, or “ubicomp”,
will define the future of computing.
Ubiquitous computing was a term coined by Mark
Weiser in 1988. It is an exciting new approach to
serve us with technology. Ubiquitous computing, or
calm technology, is a paradigm shift where
technology becomes virtually invisible in our lives.
Instead of having a desktop or laptop machine, the
technology we use will be embedded in our
environment. This technology will work in concert to
support people in carrying out their everyday life
activities, tasks, and rituals in easy, natural way using
information and intelligence that is hidden in the
network connecting these devices. As these devices
grow smaller, more connected and more integrated
into our environment, the technology disappears into
our surroundings until only the user interface
remains perceivable by users.
In the near future, following things will be common
around us as the most common applications of
ubiqutous computing:
! You make a call to your friend whose native
language is French. He understands English
quite well but prefers to speak in French. No
problem. In real-time what you say comes
across on his end in French and vice-versa.
! You need to setup a meeting with a group of
business partners who all have busy
schedules. No problem, their automated
calendars work together to find a good time
for all of you to meet.
! You are rushed to the hospital after a car
accident. By performing a retinal scan the
doctors are provided with time-sensitive and
important information: allergies, past
surgeries, existing conditions, emergency
contact information, name and age.
(Ubiquitous computing will probably prevent
NEWSLETTER
most accidents before they happen.)
! You have lost your keys. No more searching, just
ask your house. It will know EXACTLY where they
are, even if they are hiding in the couch cushions.
(Keys will probably be a thing of the past at this
point.)
There will be burgeoning population of 'effectively
invisible' computers around us, embedded in the
fabric of our homes, shops, vehicles, farms, and
some even in our bodies. We can interact with them
as we go about our normal activities. However they
can range in size from large Plasma displays on the
walls of buildings to microchips implanted in the
human body. They help us command, control,
communicate, do business, travel, and entertain
ourselves, and these 'invisible' computers are far
more numerous than their desktop cousins.
According to the vision of World Wireless Research
Forum (WWRF), there will be 7 trillion wireless
devices serving 7 billion people by year 2020. Having
such a large number of devices in our enviroment
raise a lot of questions like how many computers will
you be using, wearing, or have installed in your body,
in 2020? How many other computers will they be
talking to? What will they be saying about you, doing
for you, or to you? Will by that time computers will be
ubiquitous and globally connected? Shall we be able
to manage such large-scale systems, or even
understand them? How do people interact with them
and how does this new pervasive technology affect
society? How can non-computing people configure
and control them? What tools are needed for design
and analysis of these constantly adapting and
evolving systems? What theories will help us to
understand their behavior? Actually these are all the
research challenges and questions that need to be
addressed.
Ubiquitous computing touches on a wide range of
research topics, including distributed computing,
mobile computing, sensor networks, humancomputer interaction, and artificial intelligence. A lot
of reasearch has been going on related to these
topics. Now we are not far from seeing ubiqutous
37
Introduction to The Cardiovascular
Diseases/Events
Cardiovascular diseases are the collective names for
the heart and blood vessels disorders, which result
due to accumulation of fats and cholesterols inside
interior walls of coronary arteries, causing arteries to
become narrow or resulting in complete blockage of
these arteries, leading to very dangerous and life
threatening cardiovascular events. Estimates of year
2009 showed that about 81,100,000 people in the
United States suffered from cardiovascular diseases,
about 17,600,000 from coronary heart disease and
about 6,400,00 from Stroke.
Atherosclerosis - A Major Cause of
Cardiovascular Diseases
Atherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque in the
arteries; develops slowly, with soft, fatty streaks
gradually accumulating along the inner walls of the
coronary arteries, especially where they branch,
which can cause serious life threatening problems
which are as follows:
1. Angina Pectoris
Because of the presence of atheromatous plaque in
the coronary arteries and constriction of arteries, the
blood supply and also nutrient supply to specific area
of heart becomes insufficient and leads to specific
cardiac pain, called as angina pectoris.
2. STROKE
Atheromatous plaque some times moves and
permanently blocks one of main cerebral artery
leading to stroke.
Myocardial Infarction
Because of the continuous occlusion of the coronary
artery, blood flow to the specific area of heart is
ceased; there is zero blood flow or very little blood
flow. Consequently heart attack or myocardial
infarction occurs.
Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases
a. High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Persistently elevated blood pressure is known as
hypertension. Blood pressure may be classified as
normal (120/80 mmHg), pre-hypertension (120/80139/89 mmHg), stage-1 hypertension (140/90
159/99 mmHg) and stage-II hypertension (160/100
mmHg or above).
APRIL - JUNE 2010
B. High Blood Cholesterol
One of the major risk factors for cardiovascular
disease is high blood cholesterol. Cholesterol, a fatlike substance carried in blood, is found in all body's
cells. Extra cholesterol enters body when a person
eat foods that come from animals (meats, eggs, and
dairy products). It is estimated that 45% of death
from cardiovascular diseases in men and 47% of
deaths from cardiovascular diseases in women are
due to raised blood cholesterol level in United
Kingdom.
Too much low-density lipoprotein (LDL or
"bad cholesterol") in the blood causes
plaque formation in artery walls, which is
atherosclerosis. When plaque builds up in
the coronary arteries that supply blood to
the heart, a person is at greater risk of
suffering from cardiovascular disease.
c. Diabetes
Diabetes, which is an abnormal glucose tolerance or
raised fasting glucose level in blood, is strongly
associated with cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes
substantially increases risk of cardiovascular
diseases.
d. Smoking
Research has shown that smoking increases heart
rate, tightens major arteries, and can create
irregularities in the timing of heartbeats, all of which
make heart work harder. Smoking also raises blood
pressure, which increases the risk of stroke in people
who already have high blood pressure. Although
obesity increases chances of developing other risk
factors for heart disease, especially high blood
pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes.
e. Age
As a person is aged, heart tends not to work as well.
The heart's walls may thicken, arteries may stiffen
and harden, and the heart is less able to pump blood
to the muscles of the body. Because of these
changes, the risk of developing cardiovascular
diseases increases with age.
f. Stress
Stress is considered a contributing risk factor for
38
cardiovascular diseases. Some other risk factors for
cardiovascular diseases include Obesity and
Overweight, Physical Inactivity, Heredity and alcohol
use etc.
Research has shown that a diet that includes
dark chocolate, almonds, fish, wine, fruits,
vegetables, and garlic can increase life
expectancy and decrease risk for
cardiovascular diseases
MTIT-QoS with Lightpaths:
Prevention of Cardiovascular Events
ü Smoking should be avoided.
ü Over weight should be reduced.
ü A diet rich in saturated fats and
cholesterol should be avoided.
ü Avoid stress and tension.
ü Do regular exercise and walk.
ü Regular check up of blood pressure.
ü Avoid drinking alcohol.
The MTIT technique is useful for both packetswitching and circuit-switching with guaranteed QoS
support. In figure 1, a lightpath is established
between source and destination by holding the
switch in off state of the corresponding wavelength.
This way a lightpath is established and downstream
nodes following destination node can spatially reuse
the wavelength. All nodes maintain a Local Lightpath
Table (LLT) for all active lightpath each time a token
passes. Each token is broadcasted with a Token
Lightpath Table (TLT) on each wavelength. Each
token consists of two lists: Add list and Delete list.
Any path can be added to add list if it is not currently
in use. A lightpath is torn down by source by writing
it to delete list.
It is shown that average throughput/access delay
performance can be achieved. The system
throughput grows and the access delay decreases as
the number of wavelengths increase.
Quality of Service (QoS) Support in WDM Metro Networks
Plants as a Source
of Anti-Cancer Agents
By Engr. Umair Ibrahim
Lecturer, Department of Electrical Engineering
In this article, some of the most widely deployed
protocols extensions implementing QoS support in
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) metro
networks have been summarised. The techniques
developed are mainly for fixed size packets and
exploit slotted ring network architectures.
Quality of Service Support:
SR3 is found to generate a throughput-fair access
to all nodes. It also helps in sharing unused
bandwidth left by guaranteed traffic to besteffort traffic. The reservation scheme can be
extended to multiple service classes. It has been
found that the higher-priority traffic is unaffected
by low-priority traffic using SR3 even if the low
priority traffic grows to over loaded condition.
There are many services, for example multimedia
Reservation Scheme for QoS Support:
traffic, that require QoS with respect to throughput,
delay, and jitter. To meet
A connection-oriented
these requirements, network
protocol based on connection
provides dedicated service
setup and termination is also
classes, for example,
proposed. In order to
constant bit rate (CBR) and
transmit connection-oriented
variable bit rate (VBR). In
pa cke ts fo r re a l time
WDM networks, this service
services, the ring is
quality is achieved by
subdivided into slots called
allocating reservation of
“Connection Frames”. Best
network resources via circuit
effort data services are
switching resulting in
transmitted in unused or
“ G u a ra n t e e d Q o S ”. To
empty slots. This QoS
provide QoS to bursty traffic,
support is found to meet
Figure 1. MTIT-QoS technique
node processes and forwards
delay requirements almost
packets with different priorities while
deterministically. This scheme
benefitting from statistical multiplexing leading to
supports only fixed size packets, similar to SR3.
“Statistical QoS”.
A similar reservation scheme was proposed in which
each node had W real-time VOQs, in addition to the
A. SR3: Synchronous Round Robin with Reservation
normal W VOQs. Packets in the real-time VOQs are
is a combination of SRR and MRR protocols that allow
transmitted via reserved slots. A single reservation
nodes to reserve slots, thereby increasing the control
slot contains a Connection setup and Termination
over access delay. In SR3, time is subdivided into P
fields, each consisting of N bits over the subcarrier.
SRR frames. SAT messages are used to broadcast
When a node sets a bit in the setup field, connection
reservation information. Each SAT message carries
is reserved with the corresponding destination in
information about current reservation on the channel
each frame. To free the reserved field, the same
it regulates. Each SAT message has a reservation
set/circulation/reset procedure is performed. Each
field (SAT-RF) which is subdivided into (N-1) fields;
node keeps track of reservation by maintaining its
each subfield is assigned to each node.
table after reading the reservation frame.
NEWSLETTER
39
by Dr. Afsar Khan
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Plants have a long history of use in the treatment of
cancer. Plant-derived natural products have played
an important role in the development of several
clinically important anti-cancer agents. About 60% of
currently used anti-cancer agents are derived from
plants, micro-organisms or marine organisms. These
natural products have played and continue to play an
important role in the development of conventional
drugs for the treatment of most of the prevailing
human ailments. Different anti-cancer natural
products are at various stages of development. Some
are now in the clinical use.
Plant-Derived Anti-Cancer Agents in Clinical
Use
The search for plant-derived anti-cancer natural
products started in the early 1950s with the discovery
and development of Vinca alkaloids, vincristine (VCR)
and vinblastine (VLB) isolated from Catharanthus
roseus. The plant was originally used for the
treatment of diabetes. The observation of unrelated
medicinal use of the source plant lead to the
discovery of VLB and VCR. These were the first
agents which were advanced into clinical use. Both
VLB and VCR are used for the treatment of a variety
of cancers. The Podophyllum species have a long
history of use in the treatment of cancer.
Epipodophyllotoxin is a natural product derived from
these species. The synthetic derivatives of
Epipodophyllotoxin (Etoposide and Teniposide) are
the two clinically-active agents used for the
treatment of cancer.
APRIL - JUNE 2010
A class of compounds called taxanes were recently
found to be anti-cancer agents. One of these taxanes
is paclitaxel (Taxol®) which was initially isolated from
the bark of Taxus brevifolia. Taxol is used in the
treatment of breast, ovarian and non-small-cell lung
cancer (NSCL). Recently, the activity of taxol is also
noted against rheumatoid arthritis.
Camptotheca acuminata is an ornamental tree which
is known in China as the tree of joy. A compound
known as camptothecin was isolated from this plant
as an active anti-cancer constituent. Topothecan
(Hycantine®) is a derivative of camptothecin which is
used for the treatment of ovarian and small-cell lung
cancers, while another derivative Irinotecan is used
for the treatment of colorectal cancers.
Plant-Derived Anti-Cancer Agents in Clinical
Development
Olomucine is a natural product which was isolated
from the cotyledons of the radish, Raphanus sativus.
Olomucine showed inhibition of cycline-dependant
kinases (Cdk). Chemical modification of olomucine
resulted into roscovitine, a more potent inhibitor. It is
in phase II clinical trials in Europe and is now
produced synthetically.
Chemists at Hoechst India Limited isolated a natural
product rohitukine from Dysoxylum binectariferum.
Rohitukine is responsible for anti-inflammatory and
immunomodulatory activities. Flavopiridol is one of
its synthetic analogues which was found to possess
40
Tyrosine kinase and potent genin inhibitory against a
series of breast and lung carcinoma cell lines.
Plant-Derived Anti-Cancer Agents in
Preclinical Development
Triterpenoid acids are known to possess weak antiinflammatory and anti-tumor activities. Betulinic acid
is a lupane-type triterpene which has been isolated
from different plant genera. It showed antibacterial,
anti-inflammatory and anti-malarial activities but the
most important activity of betulinic acid is the
inhibition of the replication of strains of human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and cytotoxicity
against a range of cancer cell lines.
Interest has been taken in bruceantin which was first
isolated from a plant Brucea antidysenterica and
showed significant activity against panels of
leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma cell lines.
With the identification of an increasing number of
targets associated with particular cancers, anticancer
drug discovery is now based on high throughput
screening of compounds against a range of such
targets.
Challenges in Using Natural Product as AntiCancer Agents
Generally, many natural products are very potent in
the area of cancer chemotherapy but they have little
solubility in aqueous solvents. Hence, their
therapeutic use is limited. These agents may be used
as “warheads” attached to monoclonal antibodies
specially targeted to epitopes on tumors of interest. A
serious problem encountered in cancer
chemotherapy is the resistance developed by many
cancer patients to treatment with standard
anticancer agents.
Medicinal Plants of Hazara Region and the
Future Perspectives
Hazara region is rich in diversity of flora with
interesting medicinal properties. Majority of the
population use these flora as folk medicine. The bark
of Berberis lyceum (koaray, sumbul) is applied to
wounds and is used for the treatment of oral
infections too. The roots of Paeonia emodi (mamekh)
are used to treat dysentery, epileptic attacks, cholera,
whooping cough, uterine diseases, convulsions,
dropsy, hysteria, diarrhea, backache, and vomiting.
The roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra (malathi) are used to
relieve cough. Fumaria indica (Papra) is beneficial in
dyspepsia, body pain and skin infections.
The local population either does not know the actual
worth of the local plants or the plants are not properly
investigated for their chemical constituents. Due to
this reason, majority of the important medicinal
plants now have become endangered species due to
over-harvesting. There is the need to educate the
local population to preserve those species which are
under stress. By chemically investigating the plants
and proving the promising biological activities of the
constituents of the plants, we will be able to convert
valueless plants into valuable products. As a result,
the local population will be benefited more for a small
portion of a particular plant. For this purpose the
chemists, botanists, biochemists, and pharmacists of
this region must come forward and do a joint
research to explore the local flora.
ULTRA-WIDEBAND BALANCED ANTENNA FOR MOBILE HANDSETS
By Jamal Nasir
Lecturer, Department of Electrical Engineering
A built-in planar metal plate Ultra-Wideband antenna
for mobile handsets with balanced operation is
proposed. The antenna exhibits balanced operation,
therefore the flow of current on the handset body is
significantly reduced and hence the antenna
performance is least affected by the operator's hand.
Introduction
In recent years the concept of built-in antennas for
NEWSLETTER
mobile handsets has got much attention due to their
low profile, less weight and small size. The main aim
is to decrease the size of the antenna without
affecting the antenna's performance. Planar Metal
plate antennas have a drawback in that the antenna
performance is affected when operated by a human.
Ultra-wideband (UWB) also has emerged as a strong
candidate for the future technology due to its large
bandwidth occupying several gigahertz and
41
extremely short pulses transmitted without a carrier.
Various monopole antennas have already been
investigated and reported for ultra-wideband
operation. These monopoles however, are not much
efficient in terms of performance as they exhibit an
unbalanced structure which means that a certain
amount of current is induced on the mobile handset's
body and when the handset is operated by an
operator the antenna performance is degraded.
In this article, a newly developed planar metal plate
ultra-wideband balanced antenna is presented. The
antenna exhibits a balanced operation which leads to
a significant reduction of current on the handset body
and as a result of which the antenna's performance is
not affected by the human operator's hand.
Antenna configuration:
The external view of the antenna is shown in the
figure 1 along with the coordinate system.
Figure 1: Antenna configuration
The proposed antenna structure has been simulated and
tested for studying the characteristics of the antenna.
The simulation is carried out in the software called Ansoft HFSS.
The measurement of the return loss and radiation pattern is
carried out in the anechoic chamber.
Figure 2
shows the return losses of the antenna in the
1-7GHz range. Figure 2a shows the simulated return
loss of the antenna. Figure 2b shows the measured
returns loss of the antenna in free space,
in operator's hand and in talk position.
NEWS BITE
Department of Management Sciences
Syed Gohar Abbas, Assistant Professor & Ex-DOO of
the Department of Management Sciences, CIIT
Abbottabad has been finally awarded HEC
Scholarship for Doctoral studies under overseas
Scholarship Phase II FRANCE.
Syed Gohar Abbas joined CIIT
Abbottabad on 23 August 2002 as
lecturer. Being thoroughly familiar
with the exactions of his job and
showing outstanding performance,
he got promoted to Assistant
Professor in 2005.
He served CIIT Abbottabad as Hostel
Warden and Chairman Hostel
Discipline committee for five years.
He has been the Incharge Extra
Curricular Activities & Chief Editor of
Annual Magazine of CIIT Abbottabad
since 2004. He has been the founder Patron of
COMSATS Literary Society and the students of CIIT
Abbottabad won many All Pakistan Level Shields and
Prizes at GCU Lahore, PAF Risalpur, FAST Islamabad,
APRIL - JUNE 2010
FJWU Rawalpindi, CIIT Lahore, NUST Islamabad and
many others under his supervision.
Syed Gohar Abbas completed his MS ( HRM) in 2008
with distinction. In March 2009, he was appointed as
Departmental Operating
Officer of MS Department
after the Death of Mr. Azeem
Shahzad and served in this
capacity for one year. In April
2010 he has was selected
along with 12 other
candidates from Pakistan for
higher studies in France. After
completing 2 months of
French Language Course at
Alliance Francaise,
Islamabad, he will leave for
higher studies on 25 July
2010 for Lyon France.
Congratulations to him from the CIIT Abbottabad's
family!
42
WHO IS NEW?
Five Days Master Trainers Workshop
on Testing & Assessment
Department of Electrical Engineering
Dr. Imdad Khan
Dr. Jamshaid Hussain
Designation: Assistant Professor
Qualification: PhD, Electrical
Engineering, University of Birmingham,
UK
Research Interests: Antennas and propagation for
body-centric wireless communication
Designation:Assistant Professor
Qualification: PhD, Italy
Research Interest:Development
of TransgenicPlants Resistance to
Biotic and A biotic Stresses
Dr. Rer.nat. Mazhar Ali
Tahira Noor
Designation: Assistant Professor
Qualification: PhD, Germany
Research interests: Quantum
information Theory, Quantum
communication
Designation: Lecturer
Qualification: MS, International
Islamic University, Islamabad
Research Interest: Bio
informatics
Department of Development Studies
Jawad Ahmad
Dr. Amber Ferdoos
Designation: Lecturer
Qualification: MS.c Electronics
Engineering, UET Peshawar
Research Interest:
Power Electronic DC-DC
Converters, Electrical Power Distribution
Designation: Assistant Professor
Qualification: PhD, Germany
Research Interest: Sociology
Three Days Academic Retreat at CIIT Abbottabad
for HEC Approved PhD Supervisors
Department of Chemistry
Mohammad Adil Ansari
Dr. Amir Waseem
Designation:Lecturer
Qualification:MS.c (Computer
Science & Engineering) from Hanyang
University, South Korea.
Research Interest:Embedded systems desigh & test,
Biomedical robotics
Designation: Assistant Professor
Qualification: PhD, Balochistan
University, Quetta
Research Interest: Analytical
Chemistry
Department of Environmental Sciences
Dr. Muhammad Irshad
Designation: Associate Professor
Qualification: PhD, Tottori University
Japan
Research interest:Characterization
& recycling of organic waste
Nutrient dynamics in waste amended
soils
NEWSLETTER
Department of Management Sciences
Dr. Nasir Khan
Designation: Assistant Professor
Qualification: PhD, Karachi
University
Research Interest:Implimentation
of Islami Shariya In Pakistan
(possibilities and Hurdles).
43
APRIL - JUNE 2010
44