NAYS E-Magazine Issue 3 (February - April 2013)

e-Magazine NAYS PR O M O T I N G SC I EN C E

ISSUE 3 February –Apri l 2013

Safety and Security of

Pakistan’s Nuclear

Program………...13

Wireless Drug De-

livery System……...17

Health Care System of

Pakistan…………03

Biodiversity for

Sustainability……..…..08

TEAM NAYS e-MAGAZINE

Leadership

Patron

Prof. Dr. Anwar Nasim

President

Mr. Aftab Ahmad

School of Biological Sciences,

University of the Punjab, Lahore

[email protected]

Vice President

Dr. S.M. Shahid

(KIBGE), University of Karachi

[email protected]

Editor-in-Chief Attia Razzaq

University of the Punjab, Pakistan

UMC St. Radboud, The Netherlands [email protected]

IT Editor Ubaid Umar MS Student (EME College, NUST)

Operations Engineer (Nayatel)

[email protected]

Data Collector Seema Adil B.S student Biochemistry

University of Karachi, Pakistan

[email protected]

Biography of Eminent Scientist NAYS Publications

[email protected]

Naey Charagh Report NAYS Naey Charagh team

Subject Editors

Botany

Dr. Mehmooda Munazir

PhD Scholar, Arid Agriculture University, RWP

Kings College London, UK

[email protected]

Physics

Zahoor Ali

Senior Scientist

PAEC, Pakistan [email protected]

Biomedical Sciences

Muhammad Sughis

PhD Biomedical Sciences

Center of Research for Public Health & the Health Journal, Pakistan

[email protected]

Biology

Dr. Muhammad Amjad Ali

PhD Biology UFT-BOKU, Austria

[email protected]

Engineering

Malik Waqas Ahmed

Civil Engineer NUST, Pakistan

[email protected]

Campus Corner Mirza Abdul Aleem Baig

Research Assistant, College of Biomedical Engineering,

Ziauddin University, Karachi

[email protected]

Workshop/Conference Corner Audience portion

Data Managers Khalid Iqbal

M.Phil student Pharmaceutics

University of the Punjab, Pakistan [email protected]

Muhammad Javed Hassan PhD Agriculture

Bahauddin Zikria University, Multan, Pakistan

[email protected]

Reviewers Aneela Yasmeen

University of the Punjab, Pakistan [email protected]

Suha Tirmizi Research Officer

AKDN eHealth Resource Center

Aga Khan University Karachi [email protected]

[email protected]

Dr. Aneela Karim

Assistant Professor Federal Urdu University of Arts Science and Technol-

ogy

[email protected]

Aftab Ahmad

School of Biological Sciences,

University of the Punjab, Pakistan

[email protected]

NAYS e -Magazine , I ssue 3 , February—Apri l 2013

The Universe is immeasurable with no definite boundaries. Although human knowledge is limited with respect to the actual universe,

we like to say HELLO NEIGHBOUR to galaxies next to us. The scientists are struggling day in, day out to find out new worlds leading

to the discovery of a new galaxy near our ‘Milky Way’. With Hubble Space Telescope scientists have spotted many new galaxies so far

off that they appear to be 400 million years, after big bang event. According to astronomers, it is hard to find these small galaxies near

Milky Way as they are distant, faint and could be anywhere in universe. Leo P is a small galaxy in vicinity of Milky Way at a distance

of about five or six million light-years discussed for the first time in astronomical journal May 2013. It was first spotted as a cloud of

hydrogen gas with hundreds to thousands stars as compared to Milky Way having thousands to billions stars. It contains a number of

bright, blue, newly formed stars as well as a region of ionized gas that indicates the presence of a luminous young star. Indeed, the “P”

in the galaxy’s name stands for “Pristine”, rest refers to the galaxy’s location in the constellation Leo as viewed from Earth, discoverer

state. In a nutshell, the discovery makes one think of several small galaxies waiting to be revealed in inexhaustible universe.

Editorial

mailto:[email protected]


Arsalan Shakil Engineering hobbyist (Govt. College, Nazimabad, KHI)

Electronics Engineering/Plant Sciences [email protected]

Everyone loves gardening as this is one of the

things which make our lives delightful by its

fragrance and appearance. As we take our very

first step outside of our room or house in the

morning, our breaths get filled with the aroma

of all kinds of flowers and then our eyes get

captivated by the beauty of mother nature. Un-

fortunately, this beauty depends on humans! It

requires very short amount of time from us in

order to look good and to live longer. As we

believe that “time is money” so it has become

quite hard for us to spend our time for some

activities other than our routine work. In more

formal words, everything is changing rapidly

and adapting advance technologies so why gar-

dening has to be left behind?

That’s why I thought of making a project which

can give plants or even an entire garden free-

dom to live on their own. Existing watering

systems water the plants according to the time,

just like alarm clock. That doesn’t work well

during different seasons because soil dries more

quickly in summer and less in winter which

results in over watering, thus most plants die. In

this Automatic Watering System, precise ana-

logue readings are taken from the soil of plants

with the help of two metal probes that stay

deeper in the soil. Then these readings are fed

into the ADC (Analogue to Digital Converter)

channels of microcontroller where these read-

ings are processed and if necessary, it turns ON/

OFF the water pump and that not only saves lot

of water but also lives of some

sensitive plants. As this project

uses Microcontroller, analogue

readings can easily be tweaked

with respect to different kinds

of plants (if necessary). This

project is also equipped with an

LCD module which gives a new

way to humans for interacting

with the plants more freely, all

of the process can be seen on

the LCD display, as:

1. Water Level: Excellent!

2. Water Level: Good!

3. Water Level: Normal!

4. Water Level: Water is

Needed! (This message turns on the water

pump and it stays on unless first level is

reached).

This project consists of the following parts:

Microcontroller, 16x2 LCD Display, Two Metal

Probes (for taking readings from the soil),

Small Water Pump, Small pipes for watering

purpose, 12V DC Adaptor (entire system is

operated at just 12V).

Automatic Watering System for Plants

Umer Mir Pharm D

General

Pharmacists: The Health Care System of Pakistan

Dawn news reported:

1. LAHORE, March 21: The World Health Organization (WHO), too, has blamed ISOTAB for the death of more than 200

patients of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore in early 2012

2. Tyno death toll rises to 17, samples ‘cleared’

3. LAHORE: At least 16 people, mostly drug addicts seeking a fix, have died after drinking toxic cough syrup in Gujranwala,

officials said Saturday

Any one has time to think about the cause of these accidents in Pakistan? Why these are only happening in Pakistan? OR there is negli-

gence?



A step forward going towards the diagnosis of

this situation in Pakistan, I will point out one

major lapse in our system, which is the absence

of pharmacist in different fields of health care

system. Let us discuss the first one which is the

biggest one, happened in PIC Lahore, when we

discuss the drug therapies, we must think about

the clinical pharmacist which plays a vital role

as a team member in hospital. In all developed

countries clinical pharmacists are working as

therapeutic specialists. In PIC there was no

clinical pharmacist to check the adverse drug

actions and to correlate these reactions with

the toxic symptoms of different drugs. If

clinical pharmacists were there then the death

toll may have been remained very low.

Now come towards the 2nd and 3rd cases. Both

were because of the cough suppressant drug

dextrometharphan . This is a cough suppressant

and is available without prescription (OTC-over

the counter). This drug is used for the relief of

the symptoms of cough, and it is also used as

abuse drug by the addicts. It’s over dose cause

respiratory depression, coma and eventually

death. Addicts use its over dose for the euphoric

and stimulant action. Now the question is how

pharmacist can prevent these happenings, if

there are retail pharmacists at the retail

pharmacies and they are properly assessing the

buyer and only giving drugs to patients but not

to abusers and properly counseling patients

about the use and harms of overdose then you

can easily think how many cases can be pre-

vented.

Now I will discuss the different applied fields of

pharmacy, and how pharmacists are beneficial

to the people of Pakistan .Some fields are not

well established in Pakistan while others are

established in Pakistan. It is important to de-

scribe a pharmacist.

“Pharmacists, also known as druggists, are

healthcare professionals who practice in

pharmacy, the field of health sciences, focus-

ing on safe and effective medication use. The

role of the pharmacist has shifted from the

classical "lick, stick, and pour" dispensary

role (that is, "lick & stick the labels, count

the pills & pour liquids"), to being an inte-

grated member of the health care team di-

rectly involved in patient care.

Now some chatter about the hospital pharma-

cist, hospitals pharmacist is a person who is

responsible for the dispensing, counseling, in-

ventory control, storing and record keeping of

the medicines. Hospital pharmacists are also

involved in educating the physicians, nurses,

staff and patients about the use, safety and ad-

ministration of drugs. Here the most important

segment is the counseling of patient about the

medication. For example how to take medi-

cine?, either with water or milk?, after how

many hours?, which food you can take and

which food u can’t take?, either before the meal

or after meal?, which adverse drugs effects are

possible? which medication is for which pur-

pose? and how long the therapy will be contin-

ued. Pharmacist welcomes the queries and give

answers to the patient and satisfy patient psy-

chologically. Drug information centre and

poison control centre are the modifications.

Drug information centre provides any informa-

tion related to drug. And in near future inshAl-

lah UNIVERSITY OF SARGODHA, FAC-

ULTY OF PHARMACY will establish drug

information centre. You can call there, if u has a

query related to medicine. Poison control centre

are established in hospitals and they maintain

information and antidotes of the drugs. Pharma-

cists are specialized in this field. But hospital

pharmacists are not appointed in all govt. hospi-

tals, their induction is necessary to achieve the

above mentioned services.

Now come towards the role of clinical phar-

macist, these are most desperately needed in

our health care system, after PIC incident Pun-

jab govt. has appointed clinical pharmacist in

the Punjab institute of cardiology. Punjab govt.

also has hired pharmacists during dengue con-

trol. Currently AGHA KHAN UNIVERSITY

HOSPITAL, SHAUKHAT KHANAM MEMO-

RIAL CANCER HOSPITAL and CHILDREN

HOSPITAL LAHORE have well established

clinical pharmacy setups. Now I want to tell u

how a clinical pharmacist can beneficial for

health care system.

1. Clinical pharmacist ensures there is an

appropriate indication for each drug and

that all the medical problems are addressed

therapeutically.

2. Select and recommend the most appropri-

ate drug based upon therapeutic goal.

3. Select the most appropriate dose regimen

according to therapeutic goal.

4. Checks drug drug interactions, drug food

interactions, preparing TPN ,preparing and

dispensing radiopharmaceuticals , patient

profile, adjust the dose according to body

weight, and also in case renal and hepatic

impairment.

5. Maintain drug therapy for effectiveness or

adverse effects in order to determine

whether to maintain, modify or discon-

tinue. Also counsels the patient and evalu-

ate the effectiveness of drug therapy.

If govt. appoint clinical pharmacists in hospi-

tals then we can achieve these benefits.

Community pharmacy is a pharmacy in com-

munity, where a competent, qualified and

trained pharmacist is appointed. This pharmacy

has the family history of patient, while pharma-

cist is well aware of the allergies of the different

families. So at community pharmacy phar-

macist can best manage chronic diseases like

diabetes and hypertension. Community

pharmacist can also educate people about the

disease, how they spread and prevention. For

this purpose pharmacist can also arrange discus-

sion sessions with people of community. Also

pharmacists play their active role in immuniza-

tion. Govt. should set the trend of community

pharmacies where pharmacists treat diseases

like irritable bowl syndrome, common cold, etc.

and refer the patient to the physician and re-

spective specialists in case of more severe pa-

thology. This will help to reduce quackery in

Pakistan and will also be beneficial for patients

in terms of prevention of economic loss, time

loss and early diagnosis.

There are many private as well as public sector

universities which are offering Pharm-D. It

means thousands of students graduate annually.

Many talented studiers leave the country be-

cause Pakistan has not well established job

structure of pharmacist, in this way talent of this

country goes out and it’s not beneficial for the

country. Govt. should devise policies for the

pharmacist’s induction in health care system

and giving them proper opportunity to perform

in health care system. The Punjab drug rules

2007( schedule G) should be implemented for

the safety of people. No doubt the establish-

ment of Drug Regulatory Authority is admi-

rable but we want to see it fully functional at

all levels. Last year in 2012 Punjab assembly

has passed a bill that there will be 1 pharma-

cist for fifty beds in every public sector hos-

pital. It was a brilliant idea but not came into

reality. Because vacancies was not announced,

I wish in near future govt. will announce vacan-

cies and will pay attention to this alarming

situation in health care system.


Muhammad Mohsin Raza, Zeeshan Sattar, Asim Ali, Aiman, Iqra Ishfaq, Zarnab Sabir M.Sc. (Hons.) Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad

Popular article Agriculture Sciences

[email protected]

Forests provide critical shelters for terrestrial biodiversity, act as a central constituent of the earth’s biogeochemical systems and are a source of ecosystem services essential for human well being. Forests also have the potential to mitigate global climate change by serving as net carbon sinks. The global forest area has been reduced by 40% over the last three centuries, primarily as a result of human activities, particularly the conversion of forested land to agricultural us-age. Today, less than one third of the earth’s land area is covered by forests. Disturbance agents such as pathogens, insects and fire can decrease the ability of forests to provide goods and services. Climate has always shaped the world’s forests but today the world’s climate has become warmer and will change further at an exceptional rate. Recent extensive tree death events have been associated with climate change. Climate change ‘‘refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g. by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean or variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically dec-ades or longer’’.

Climate change has the potential to initiate mul-tiple, interacting processes that affect forests, some positive and others negative. For instance, higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations can result in increased growth rates and water use efficiency of trees, or there may be a reduced effect of carbon fertilization on tree productivity over time and in older trees. Elevated CO2 was shown to increase host resistance to forest dis-eases. If host susceptibility or pathogen viru-lence or aggressiveness is increased by climatic conditions, then a disease outbreak or epidemic may result. Plant disease epidemics may be-come more frequent as the climate changes. Epidemics of pathogens that are mobile or eas-ily dispersed, and can kill their hosts relatively quickly.

The main objective of the article is to under-standing and management of forest tree diseases under a changing climate. Because, most plant diseases are strongly influenced by environ-mental conditions, climate change will affect the pathogen, the host and the interaction be-tween them, resulting in changes in disease impact. Since, abiotic factors such as tempera-ture and moisture influence host susceptibility to pathogens, pathogen growth, reproduction and infection which represent the most consid-erable drivers of disease outbreaks. The distri-bution of hosts and diseases will change under the perception of climate change. Because, in-creases in temperature and changes in precipita-tion may allow the ranges of some species to expand, perhaps whilst contracting elsewhere,

but models frequently predict a reduction in the potential geographic distribution of tree species or diseases as a result of climate change. Patho-gens that typically affect water stressed hosts are likely to have an increased impact on forests in regions where precipitation is reduced. The roles of pathogens as disturbance agents will probably increase, as their ability to adapt to new climatic conditions will be greater than that of their long lived hosts. Most pathogens will be

able to migrate to locations where the climate is suitable for their survival and reproduction at a faster rate than tree species.

Climate change will affect the life cycles and biological synchronicity of many forest trees and pathogens.

In this artifact the diseases and their causal pathogens or agents are divided into three groups: diseases caused by pathogens directly affected by climate; diseases caused by patho-gens indirectly affected by climate; and decline diseases.

Pathogens directly affected by climate:

This group of pathogens e.g. Phytophthora root rot can cause disease in a healthy, vigorous host, if the pathogen’s environmental require-ments are met. Their life cycles are directly affected by temperature and moisture. For ex-ample, many pathogens causing needle diseases are sensitive to precipitation and humidity and their rates of reproduction, spread, and infection are greater when conditions are moist. In these cases, changes in temperature and moisture more directly affect the pathogen regardless of

their effects on the host. Changes in climatic conditions in the last 60 years, i.e. increased mean winter temperatures, seasonal precipita-tion shift from summer into winter and a ten-dency to heavy rain are favoring infection by several species. It has been predicted that in-creasing temperatures will lead to a potential range expansion of the pathogen of this group.

Pathogens indirectly affected by climate:

Pathogens indirectly affected by climate e.g. Armillaria root disease, Pine wilt, canker pathogens etc tend to infect such hosts that are stressed by environmental factors. Such pathogens can sometimes infect a healthy host and remain latent (hidden) until the host is stressed. Whilst the ability of these pathogens to sporulate, spread and infect new hosts is affected by temperature and moisture, factors that stress their hosts are often critical to their successful invasion of host tissues. For example, an increased incidence of summer drought will increase the prob-ability that trees will be in-fected by pathogens whose activity is facilitated by host stresses, such as root patho-gens, wound colonizers and latent colonizers of sapwood.

Decline diseases

Forest declines are diseases caused by a com-plex of predisposing, inciting and contributing factors. As these difficulties accumulate the tree gradually becomes less able to produce, store and mobilize carbohydrates. It typically devel-ops symptoms of ‘die back’, and unless the situation improves significantly the tree eventu-ally dies.

Managing forest diseases as climate changes

Given the numerous examples of the ecological, economic and social value of forests, and the role that forests may play in mitigating global climate change, it is precious to conduct a com-prehensive assessment of management options for forest diseases. Impacts of climate change on forest health must be mitigated. This will require proactive thinking and a modified tech-nique of forest management approaches, be-cause orthodox management strategies will not protect forest values in a changing climate. Climate change is already disrupting practices and policies for managing commercial and non-commercial forests.

Climatic Changes and Forest Diseases



Essential components for managing forest

diseases as climate changes

Four categories of management tactics have

been recommended: monitoring, forecasting,

planning and use of mitigating strategies.

Monitoring

Monitoring the spatial (Regarding Space) oc-

currence of forest diseases relative to both the

ranges of host trees and annual weather patterns

will inform adaptive management. The reliabil-

ity of monitoring data will be maximized if

regular, organized surveys of tree health, mor-

tality and growth, whether remote or ground

based, are conducted by skilled personnel, ide-

ally at the stand, watershed and landscape levels

at regular intervals. Forest range plots also can

be used to detect trends in growth and mortality

for individual species and incidence of diseases

or other disturbance agents. The ability of these

activities to effectively inform the long term

management of forests might be increased by

coordinating with monitoring for other distur-

bance agents, such as insects or fire, and by

monitoring across jurisdictional boundaries.

Forecasting

The profound changes in environmental condi-

tions expected from global climate change mean

that forest professionals cannot rely on histori-

cal observations and experiences to forecast and

plan for the future, but instead must develop

and use a variety of modeling tools. Models of

diverse phenomena, from climate to vegetation

to disturbance agents, can guide management of

forests under a changing climate, especially

when they are well integrated. Bio climatic

envelope models, for example, which integrate

spatially explicit historic and contemporary data

from weather stations, general circulation mod-

els and other sources, can be used to correlate

current tree and pathogen species distributions

with climate variables or to project future distri-

butions on the basis of understanding of spe-

cies’ physiological responses to environmental

variables. Modeling pathogens’ climate enve-

lopes alongside host reactions to climate can

thus enhance the ability to predict disease out-

comes.

Planning

Jurisdictions that already have forest health

strategies must ensure that they are maintained

and adequately funded. Also, they should re-

view and revise pertinent legislation and poli-

cies to ensure that forest health problems can be

responded to quickly and effectively. The suc-

cess of management proposed to minimize the

potential effects of climate change on forest

pests on large spatial scales depends, in part, on

the synergistic effects of other major distur-

bances, such as wildfire. Climate change in-

duced increases in tree mortality from patho-

gens and insects may increase the occurrence

and severity of fires. Hazards and risk rating

systems are integral components of forest man-

agement plans and can be applied in the absence

of disease epidemics, and have proven useful

for projecting the effects of climate change on

forest pathogens.

Strategies for mitigating effects of climate

change

Ecological resilience is the capacity of an eco-

system to absorb disturbance without shifting

into a qualitatively different state. The estab-

lishment and maintenance of forests with di-

verse species and age classes can help maintain

resilience to mortality and reduction in growth

rates of trees in response to diseases and climate

change. Breeding programs for forest trees can

promote genetic diversity, disease resistance

and tolerance to environmental stresses. A

tree’s resistance to pathogens depends on ge-

netic variation, evolved immunity, agility and

environmental conditions. Fungicides may be

an effective method of controlling forest dis-

eases in forest nurseries and in natural forests,

especially in the short term, despite negative

public perception.

Abdullah Mohiuddin Sustainable environment and energy systems, Middle East Technical University

Field: Political Economy and Law in Sustainability

Evaluate the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Major Traditions and

Approaches to Value the Environment

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of

the major traditions and approaches to

value the environment. Referring to the

classical, neo-classical (marginalist), envi-

ronmental and/or ecological traditions,

and their variants as you see appropriate,

outline your preferred approach to value

the environment. Illustrate your responses

using real historical environmental prob-

lems.

Why there is need to estimate or assign the

value to the environment? If something is

there for free, it is ignored in every step of

decision making. Thus in order to save the

environment the first step required by the

economists is to come up with the concept of

assigning the monetary value to the environ-

ment and thus somehow limit the environ-

mental degradation using economical princi-

ples. There are various approaches for the

estimation of the value of the environment. In

Neo Classical economics, one major ap-

proach is the creation of market. A brief in-

troduction and strengths and weaknesses of

this approach are discussed in this essay.

Two examples from the recent history in this

essay will extend the understanding about

how development of a market can help in the

reduction of the degradation of the environ-

ment. Second most important concept is of

market failures. After which another ap-

proach named as “willingness to pay” is dis-

cussed which is for the estimation of value of

non-market based environmental goods and

services. A brief discussion of the ecological

economic approach will be followed by the

conclusion. In neo classical tradition, the

centre of economic activities is the market.

Market is a place where customers and sup-

pliers gather for the exchange of goods and

services. The basic difference between classi-

cal and neo-classical approaches of market

are that in neo-classical economics the valua-

tion of price comes from the equilibrium of

supply and demand where as in classical eco-

nomics the price is determined by the cost of

production. So in Neo-classical Market, the

instruments of supply and demand operate

and determine the price of the goods and

services. Markets are meant for the efficient

allocation of resources. Creation of markets

for environmental goods and services will

provide the monetary value to them and thus

it will directly influence the decisions and

preferences of the people and the corpora-

tions. A new commodity will be created and

new opportunities of trade will emerge. Mar-

kets are created by humans, they are not natu-

ral.



The major problem in creating a market for

environmental goods and services is that these

goods and services are non-excludable. For

instance the services of the ozone layer or the

benefits of polar ice caps in prevention of cli-

mate change are for all human beings. It is im-

possible to restrict anyone from enjoying the

benefits of their services. Everyone is using

these environmental services for free. In order

to create a market it is necessary to incorporate

the concept of ownership or private property. It

is very difficult to establish property rights for

these goods and services. Some of these prob-

lems are international (e.g. melting of Polar Ice

Caps, rise of sea levels, global warming etc) and

since there is no global institution powerful

enough to possibly intervene and establish prop-

erty rights and thus create a market. So in order

to create a market some sort of institution

should be present that could establish property

rights. And creation of such institution would

require costs. Thus creation of Market itself

requires some costs such as transaction costs,

which may be very significant.

Although there is an example of success in de-

veloping a cap-and-trade mechanism that

showed that this might work for restricting the

degradation of the environment. United State

program for trading in SO2 (Sulphur dioxide)

emissions is said to be successful in reducing

the SO2 emissions. SO2 emissions can cause

acid rain. So in order to prevent acid rain this

program was introduced under Title IV of the

1990 Clean Air Act Amendments to reduce acid

rain by achieving a reduction in SO2 and NOx

(Nitrogen Oxides) emissions (EPA). In that

market based mechanism, the program sets a

permanent cap on the total amount of SO2 emis-

sions on electric power plants, and the level

below the cap is traded. Thus, allowing the

parties to flexibly select the method of compli-

ance. So they could decide the best possible

economical way to reduce their emissions. And

the operations of these electric power plants

were influenced by the market value. As it is

mentioned earlier that creation of market itself

requires cost. The cost that was anticipated for

this program was much higher than the actual

cost that incurred during the implementation of

the program. And the benefits were estimated to

be 70 billion Dollars annually with a cost-

benefit ratio of 1:40 (EPA). The program

achieved a reduction in Acid rain phenomena

locally, so it was kind of a localized solution for

a localized problem. This however cannot be

easily replicated for other international environ-

mental problems .Global warming, for instance

is an international problem and thus, for a mar-

ket based mechanism to work successfully, it

will require an international consensus.

Kyoto Protocol is an international effort to com-

bat global warming by reduction of CO2 emis-

sions. It’s an international agreement associated

to the United Nation`s Framework Convention

on Climate Change. This protocol binds the 37

industrialized countries and European commu-

nity to adopt local measures to reduce CO2 and

other green house gas emissions and gives them

some flexibility through market based mecha-

nisms (United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change -UNFCCC). This however seems

not to be much fruitful because, some major

players in the CO2 emissions are not taking part

in it. United States for instance, being the major

CO2 emitter is not the part of the deal. China is

not required to reduce its emissions since its

emissions of CO2 per capita is very low (Liliana

LaValle and Amy Braun) .The estimation of

price of a market good is affected by the supply

and demand of the goods and services. The

number of participants of a market is thus very

important. The achievements of this protocol

might have been very different if United States

would have agreed to sign this protocol.

Apart from these examples there are other

things to be considered as well which are re-

lated to the market based approach of valuing

the environment. There is a possibility of mis-

calculation of the value of environmental goods

and services through market based mechanisms

because the number of participants in the mar-

ket is restricted to the present generation. There

is a possibility that if future generation could

somehow participate in the market, then the

value that we will get via supply and demand

principles could turn out to be far greater. But

since future generation does not exist right now,

and with future there is a factor of uncertainty,

we cannot know how valuable the environment

will be for them in terms of monetary criteria.

For example, the consumption of resources such

as fossil fuels, how much would the people of

future generation like to pay for these re-

sources?

Conventional economists however define a

concept of intertemporal discounting where

methods of discounting can be applied to find

the future value of the environmental resources

and this evaluation can be used in the decision

making process. Then a problem emerges that

future assets may be valued much lower. As it is

evident, in modern world money is considered

as a criterion for depiction of value of any asset,

and according to the economic principles the

value of money decreases with time. This may

be proved as a setback, as environmental goods

and services will be valued lesser in future than

in the present. Future environmental resources

when evaluated with the discounting factor, if

results in lower estimation of their value, will

make it difficult to decrease the excessive con-

sumption in the present. Above mentioned ex-

ample is a reason of market failure, where mar-

ket fails to serve the purpose of efficient alloca-

tion of the resources. There can be various other

reasons of market failure as well and they could

be because of any inherent feature of the re-

source.

In case of a market absence of an environmental

good, economists suggest an empirical method

of estimation of their value. This approach to

find the value of environment is the concept of

willingness to pay, how much people are will-

ing to pay to stop the degradation of the envi-

ronment. This non-market based method can

help the policy makers and governments to

decide the amount of funding they must allocate

towards the solutions of environmental prob-

lems. One of the major problems with the neo-

classical approaches is the possibility of errors

and misjudgment in valuation of environment.

The pricing technique or the calculation of

monetary value of environmental goods and

services may not reflect the actual value. Also

not everything can be put in terms of money.

A different perspective in valuation of environ-

ment is found in ecological economics. As Ken-

neth Boulding, who is regarded as one of the

founding fathers of ecological economics de-

scribes spaceman economy,


where earth is modeled as a spaceship and it can

be thought of a closed system in terms of mate-

rials. (Roger Perman et.al, 2001). Mankind can

enjoy the resources that are present within the

spaceship but they cannot get a supply of re-

sources beyond the boundaries of the spaceship.

Here, in order, for mankind to exist sustainably,

they must find their existence in such a way that

does not degrade the ecological cycle.

This perspective of valuation of environment

does not negate the need of price based evalua-

tion of the environment as Boulding himself

accepts the need for market based methods, but

it emphasizes more on the need of putting the

things in a correct perspective. That is, the eco-

nomics of humans is a subset of a larger system,

which is the ecology. As Robert Nadeau, a pro-

fessor of environmental science and public pol-

icy at George Mason University says:

“The primary objective of the ecological econo-

mists is to enlarge the framework of

the neoclassical economic paradigm to include

scientifically valid measures of the environ-

mental costs of economic activities” (Robert

Nadeau, 2011).

In the light of above discussion, it may be stated

that neo-classical approaches of valuation of

environment, if pursued in a proper perspective

as it is suggested by ecological economics, with

efforts of minimizing the miscalculations, errors

and failures such as market failures, can provide

a better solution of the environmental problem .

Efforts to include the environmental costs of the

economic activities in the economic system are

required. Lessons from the past efforts of crea-

tion of markets must be learned and applied in

the continued efforts. As it is mentioned in this

article US program for trading in SO2 is an

example of the success that is achievable via

market based mechanism. The Neo-Classical

market based approach can provide some sort of

flexibility and ease of implementation by all

parties, which may be more acceptable.

Bibliography

EPA “Cap and Trade: Acid Rain Program Results” [http:/ /www.epa.gov/capandtrade/

documents/ctresults.pdf] accessed on 24th

November 2012 3:15 PM

Li liana LaValle and Amy Braun. “Kyoto

Protocol”

[http:/ /si temaker.umich.edu/

section3group3/

the_protocol_and_its_problems] accessed

on 27th November 2012 at 10:56PM

Robert Nadeau, 2011 “Ecology Theory:

Environmental and ecological economics”.

Encyclopedia of Earth

[http:/ /www.eoearth.org/art icle/Environmental_and_ecological_economics?

topic=58074] accessed on 27th November

2012, 7:42 PM

Roger Perman et .al, 2001, “Natural Re-

source and Environmental economics: 4th

edit ion”: Addison Wasley Press

UNFCC (United Nation`s Framework Con-vention on climate change) “Kyoto Proto-

col”

[http:/ /unfccc.int /kyoto_protocol/

i tems/2830.php] accessed on 27th Novem-

ber 2012, 6:16 PM

Abdullah Mohiuddin Sustainable environment and energy systems

Middle East Technical University Field: Political Economy and Law in Sustainability

How Would You Value Biodiversity for Sustainability?

“How would you value biodiversity for sustain-

ability? How could development which re-

spected biodiversity be made sustainable, if at

all?”

“The term biodiversity or biological diversity

refers to the variety of life forms occurring in

nature, as a result of evolutionary history. The

concept includes the variety of organisms at all

levels, from genetic variants belonging to the

same species through arrays of different spe

cies; as well as the variety of ecosystems, en-

compassing ecological communities in a given

habitat and the physical conditions under

which they live” (Wilson, 1992).

The notion of economic growth and develop-

ment of humankind is causing the natural habi-

tats to shrink and thus the world is currently

progressing towards the state where many spe-

cies are endangered. After the industrial revolu-

tion we humans are considered to be responsi-

ble for dreadful conditions of the environment,

and biodiversity loss is one of the foremost

environmental problems. Biodiversity is indis-

pensable for the stability of the ecosystem. The

loss of biodiversity reduces the exquisiteness of

the ecosystem. The chances of prospective

sources of victuals and the chances of discovery

of new pharmaceuticals, the other benefits that

are not known to men yet, will trim down if

biodiversity loss is not curtailed (Hans-Peter

Weikard, 2002). In other words, biodiversity

itself is very important for a sustainable world

for mankind.

Some scholars believe that we cannot attach a

value to essentials, like the services provided by

the ecology. According to Gowdy (1997) we

cannot affix a value to an indispensable re-

source. Some claim that biodiversity is not sub-

stitutable. As, Mainwaring (2001, Page 81)

states that, the replacement of ecosystem ser-

vices is far from human capacity. Even if

Gowdy and Mainwaring`s arguments are ac-

cepted, we will still require a valuation of biodi-

versity since our decisions towards anything

extensively depend upon what value we give to

it. The survival of ecosystems and the conserva-

tion of biodiversity all these things need an

evaluation to be a part of decision making.

(Hans-Peter Weikard, 2002).

Even though it may be tough to find the abso-

lute valuation of the biodiversity, (for various

reasons like lack of knowledge or lack of opera-

tional definition of biodiversity), the mitigation

and compensation values of the impacts of hu-

man activities on biodiversity may help in the

reduction of the loss of biodiversity. Moreover,

considering the significance of biodiversity for

sustainability of mankind, these mitigation and

compensation values will help us understand the

extent of efforts that are required to preserve

biodiversity. This approach seems effective in

the valuation of biodiversity, because it in-

volves the conservation of biodiversity and

conservation of biodiversity is inevitable for

sustainability. Later on in this essay the valua-

tion approach of mitigation and compensation is

defined. The work of Alexander James et al.

(2001) is discussed as an example of mitigation

and compensation value. The work of Hans-

peter Weikard (2002) is presented as a support

of area-based approach of Alexander James

et.al. In the second part of the essay the notion

of possibility of sustainable development that

respects biodiversity is presented. In this part of

the essay examples from agriculture, aquacul-

ture and livestock farming are given to support

the notion that developments in these areas can

be done while conserving the biodiversity. Next

http://www.gmu.edu/

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Neoclassical_economic_theory

http://www.epa.gov/capandtrade/documents/ctresults.pdf

http://www.epa.gov/capandtrade/documents/ctresults.pdf

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/section3group3/the_protocol_and_its_problems



http://www.eoearth.org/profile/Robert.nadeau

http://www.eoearth.org/topics/view/58074/

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Environmental_and_ecological_economics?topic=58074



http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php



to that the concept of a policy instrument tool

i.e. `Biodiversity offset` is discussed that can

make it possible to sustain the development

while respect diversity.

The first approach that is discussed here is Miti-

gation and compensation values. Conservation

of biodiversity deals with enveloping the devel-

opment into the biological conservation frame-

work and finding procedures to mitigate or

compensate the impacts caused by man`s ex-

ploitation of natural habitats. The costs of these

measures are the mitigation and compensation

values of biodiversity (Alho CJR. 2008)

The work of Alexander James et al (2001) can

be considered a very good illustration of mitiga-

tion and compensation valuation of biodiversity

which involves the estimation of costs of a con-

servation program for biodiversity around the

globe. They surveyed current spending on pro-

tected areas globally, made an estimate of the

funding shortfalls. The next step was the acqui-

sition of land to spread out this network for

ecological representation, and summing the cost

of managing these areas in future effectively.

Finally they estimated the scale of reimburse-

ment required to meet the opportunity costs

incurred by regional people living in or near

natural reserves. They added all the costs to find

the total annual cost of maintaining a biodiver-

sity conservation program around the globe.

Alexander James et.al also mentioned about the

enormous subsidies towards environment per-

verse activities like subsidies given to prop up

agricultural production, energy use, road trans-

portation, water consumption, and commercial

fisheries. Alexander James et.al (2001) pro-

posed that a worldwide representative and suffi-

ciently maintained nature preservation program

could be achieved for about 2% of the annual

spending on such environmentally detrimental

subsidies. If the proposition of Alexander James

et.al is accepted and the 2% or more of annual

spending on environmentally detrimental subsi-

dies are diverted towards a global biodiversity

conservation program than development and

conservation can go side by side. This global

conservation program as proposed by the work

of Alexander James et.al is a noteworthy exam-

ple of a possibility of coupling of development

with the conservation of natural habitats for the

protection of biodiversity. It may present a hope

for the possibility of a world that is not only

sustainable but also conserving biodiversity.

The approach of Alexander James et.al (2001,

Page: 43-52) for the valuation of biodiversity is

to increase the number of protected areas,

thereby giving the nature, a chance to protect

the biodiversity in its own natural way i.e. ab-

sence of human interference. This however

requires a compromise between the humanity`s

urge for development, land exploitation and

conservation of biodiversity. As Hans-Peter

Weikard (2002) concludes in his paper that

“Indeed, the problem of Noah’s ark, which

species will be given a place on the ark, is only

one of two problems that Noah faces. It is a

second-stage problem. At the first stage Noah

must make up his mind about how much space

on the ark he wants for himself.”

The approach of valuation of biodiversity by

Alexander James et.al (January 2001) seems

more practical in a sense that it focuses on the

area of protected reserves instead of focusing on

the species for the conservation of biodiversity.

This seems in-line with the work of Hans-Peter

Weikard (2002,). Hans-Peter Weikard argued

that biodiversity conservation programs lack

operation-ability because of various constraints

like lack of all the genetic information, lack of

funds, and a lack of a practical operational defi-

nition of biodiversity. In his work Hans-Peter

Weikard discussed the diversity function pre-

sented by Weitzman (Weitzman, Martin L.

1992. ‘‘On Diversity.). Weitzman`s diversity

function as a framework for the measurement of

biodiversity, is based on the genetic variation

amongst the species. He argued that Weitz-

man’s structure of diversity measurement can

be made realistic and germane by shifting the

level of analysis from species to ecosystems.

Hans-peter Weikard (2002) also proposed that

the ecosystems with more biodiversity can be

preferred in allocation of resources for conser-

vation. This may be a problem, because we do

not know what we are losing in the less diverse

ecosystem. May be ecosystems that are less

diverse if not protected, their species can be

conserved as well due to the advancement in the

technology as Keekok lee (2000 Page: 39) sug-

gests that “whole plants need not be saved; only

their seeds”. Keekok lee adds that “the habitats

of plants may be destroyed but their seeds live

on. With the seeds intact, DNA genetic engi-

neering will enable us to splice the DNA relat-

ing to whatever property of the plant is deemed

desirable into another, or indeed into bacteria

using viruses as a vector, which could replicate

that property for us in an infinitely more effi-

cient manner than the original seed/plant can

do” Thus the approach of giving preference in

saving more diverse ecosystems can make more

sense if the species of less diverse systems be

conserved using the biotechnology.

The proposition of Alexander James et.al can be

performed based on the approach suggested by

Hans-peter Weikard with an addition of conser-

vation of species of less diverse ecosystems as

discussed by Keekok Lee. In this way, well

being of future generation could be ensured and

the impacts of loss of biodiversity on sustain-

ability will be minimal.

Now moving to the second part of our discus-

sion i.e. how could development which re-

spected biodiversity be made sustainable? The

development which respects biodiversity is

inherently supporting the cause of sustainability

because sustainability of mankind itself requires

biodiversity. We depend on biodiversity in

many ways. For example the change of climate

and other adverse effects sometimes require us

to make use of biodiversity. Many traditional

livestock farmers employ multi-species and

multi-breed herds and flocks to sustain high

diversity and to shield against climatic and eco-

nomic adversities. (Hoffmann I., 2003).

Other than livestock, species combinations also

augment the output in aquatic systems thus

supporting the sustainability. Use of diverse fish

species in aquaculture improves resource use

efficiency and reduces waste. This is why, in

china four types of carp are commonly raised in

the same pond: silver carp filter phytoplankton,

grass carp feed on plant-eating microorganisms,

the common carp is an omnivorous bottom

feeder and bighead carp filters zooplankton

(Naylor et al., June 2000). We can see in above

example that because of different sources of

feed the resources are used effectively and the

carp yield can be higher than the pond which

has only one type of carp.


Similarly for agriculture, soil enrichment, pest

control and pollination are necessary ecological

benefits that are obtained due to biodiversity.

The presence of wild patches of vegetation in

farming area preserves wild or weedy species

that provide habitat for wild fauna that contrib-

ute towards soil enrichment, pest control and

pollination (Vandermeer et al., 2002). Instead of

using unsustainable sources, like the use of

pesticides for pest control, these wild patches

may be used. Above examples show the direct

dependence of human welfare on biodiversity

and they assert the importance of biodiversity

for sustainability. Research in these areas can

help us further more in developing sustainable

agriculture, aquaculture and livestock practices

that can support biodiversity.

Besides that a change in policy can also help for

the conservation of biodiversity while keeping

the development process intact. As it is argued

earlier that any development that respects biodi-

versity is inherently supporting the sustainabil-

ity, so any policy instrument that could bound

the development process to respect biodiversity

will support sustainability. Biodiversity offset is

emerging as a significant policy instrument for

the protection of biodiversity from the impacts

of development. Biodiversity offsets have been

defined by ten Kate et al (2004, Biodiversity

offsets: views, experience and the business

case) as: ‘‘Conservation actions intended to

compensate for the residual, unavoidable harm

to biodiversity caused by development projects,

so as to ensure no net loss of biodiver-

sity.’’ (David A. Norton, 2009).

Biodiversity offsets involve the safeguard of a

natural habitat that holds existing conservation

value. In case of possibility of a loss of a natural

habitat due to impacts of development, it re-

quires the developers to restore the natural habi-

tat of the same conservation value elsewhere. In

some parts of the world biodiversity offsets are

referred as mitigation whereas in some places it

is referred as compensation measure. (David A.

Norton, 2009). This also supports the earlier

discussion of mitigation and compensation val-

ues of Biodiversity in this essay .This policy

instrument also seems in-line with the proposi-

tion of Hans-peter Weikard i.e. focusing on

ecosystems for the conservation of biodiversity.

The assessment of conservation value can be

possibly done as per the suggestion given by

Hans-peter Weikard i.e. the ecosystems with

more biodiversity, may be preferred over the

ecosystems with less biodiversity. Biodiversity

offsets are used by governments and private

sector to permit the development activities (thus

sustaining the development) after the assurance

of the no-net-loss or net-gain in biodiversity.

One example of the biodiversity offset is the

Kate Valley Landfill. Kate Valley landfill is

situated in coastal hill country in New Zea-

land`s eastern South Island. Kate Valley Land-

fill was identified by Transwaste Canterbury

Ltd. (TCL) as a possible site for a new regional

landfill. TCL applied in 2002 to Hurunui Dis-

trict Council for resource consent. TCL was

granted the permission subject to some condi-

tions. One of the restrictions was that the area of

Nothofagus solandri (black beech) forest should

be retained. TCL wanted this restriction to be

removed to enable the landfill to be of a viable

size while the opposing parties wanted it to

stay. TCL and the three opposing parties went

to the environment court, where TCL offered

the environmental compensation (Biodiversity

offset).

The court accepted the biodiversity offset and

allowed to remove the restriction of retaining of

Nothofagus solandri (black beech). The biodi-

versity offset as proposed by the TCL which

was later accepted by the environment court

included the long-term protection, restoration

and management of a 410 ha “Conservation

Management Area” adjacent to the Kate Valley

landfill, which is now known as Tiromoana

Bush. The Court Further specified the number

of actions that TCL must undertake. Some of

these actions included the permanent fencing of

the Tirmoana Bush and the removal of domestic

grazing animals within two years. (David A.

Norton, 2009). The effectiveness of biodiversity

offset for conservation of biodiversity in this

case and in general as well is not discussed

here. But it can be assumed that policy instru-

ments like this if refined and implemented prop-

erly may help.

In this essay, the mitigation and compensation

valuation approach for the conservation of bio-

diversity for sustainability is discussed. This

approach is based on reducing the human im-

pacts on biodiversity so it inherently supports

sustainability (since biodiversity is inevitable

for sustainability) .After that a proposition of

Alexander James et.al is shown. Hans-Peter

Weikard`s suggestion of shifting the focus from

species to ecosystems is also discussed to show

that conservation programs like the one pro-

posed by Alexander James et al which focus on

increasing the protected areas, (which can be

ecosystems) would be effective and practical.

Finally a policy tool ( Biodiversity offset) is

discussed, which can also work in the same

manner, i.e. conservation of areas that have

higher conservation value in terms of biodiver-

sity, while giving flexibility to the people pursu-

ing development.

References

Alexander James, Kevin J. Gaston, and Andrew

Balmford, January 2001, “Can We Afford to Con-

serve Biodiversity?” BioScience, Vol. 51 No. 1, Page:

43-52

Alho, CJR, 2008,” The value of biodiversity”, Braz.

J. Biol., 68(4, Suppl.): Page: 1115-1118

David A. Norton, 2008, “Biodiversity Offsets: Two

New Zealand Case Studies and an Assessment Frame-work”, Published: 23 August 2008, Springer Science

& Business Media, LLC

Gowdy, John M. 1997. ‘‘The Value of Biodiversity:

Markets, Society, and Ecosystems.’’, Land Economics

73 (Feb.): 25–41.

Hans-Peter Weikard, February 1, 2002,”Diversity

Functions and the Value of Biodiversity”, Land Eco-

nomics vol. 78 no. 1, Page 20-27

Hoffmann I. (2003),”Spatial distribution of cattle herds as a response to natural and social environ-

ments. A case study from the Zamfara Reserve, North-

west Nigeria”. Nomadic Peoples 6, 6–23.

Keekok Lee, Alan Holland and Desmond McNeill, 2000, “Global Sustainable Development in the 21st

century: Global Sustainable development its intellec-

tual roots”, Edinburgh University Press, Page: 30-47

Mainwaring, Lynn, 2001.” Biodiversity, Biocom-plexity, and the Economics of Genetic Dissimilarity”.

Land Economics 77 (Feb.): Page 79–93.

Paulo A.L.D. Nunes, Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh,

2001,” Economic valuation of biodiversity: sense or

nonsense?” Ecological Economics 39, Page: 203–222

ten Kate K, Bishop J, Bayon R (2004),”Biodiversity

offsets: views, experience and the business case”.

IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Insight Investment,

London, UK

Rosamond L. Naylor, Rebecca J. Goldburg, Jur-

genne H. Primavera, Nils Kautsky, Malcolm C. M.

Beveridge, Jason Clay, Carl Folke, Jane

Lubchenco, Harold Mooney & Max Troell ,” Effect

of aquaculture on world fish supplies” Nature 405,

17-1024, 29 June 2000

Vandermeer, J., Lawrence, D., Symstad, A. and

Hobbie, S. 2002.” Effects of biodiversity on ecosys-

tem functioning in managed ecosystems”. In: Loreau, M., Naeem, S. and Inchausti, P. (Eds.). Biodiversity

and Ecosystem Functioning. Oxford University Press,

Oxford, UK. pp. 157-168.

WILSON, EO. , 1992, “The Diversity of Life”. New

York: W.W.Norton & Company. Page: 424.

Weitzman, Martin L. 1992, ‘‘On Diversity’’. Quar-

terly Journal of Economics. 107 (May): Page 363–

405.

Page 10


I have attended a workshop on 7th February,

2013 in National Institute for Biotechnology

and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Fais-

alabad. This was one day awareness workshop

on “Genotyping by Sequencing (GBS) and its

application in crop improvement’. Agricul-

tural Biotechnology Division of NIBGE organ-

ized this workshop. After registration session,

Hafiz Arshad recited some verses from Holy

Quran, and then participants provided their brief

introduction. After this, Dr. Sohail Hameed

(Director NIBGE) gave a warm welcome ad-

dress for all distinguished guests and partici-

pants. Dr. Sobia Ikram (Assitant professor,

NIBGE), who was also organizer of event gave

details of program and major aspects which

would be covered during workshops. First lec-

ture was delivered by Dr. Shahid Mansoor

(Sitara e imtiaz), who is working as Chief Sci-

entific Officer/ Head Agricultural Biotechnol-

ogy Division, NIBGE. He discussed whole

genome sequencing of crop plants and their

importance in developing countries like Paki-

stan. He also geve a brief and informative note

on history of genetics. A detailed recorded lec-

ture on genotyping sequene by Dr. Sharon

Mitchell (Research and Laboratory Manager,

Institute for Genomic Diversity, Cornell Uni-

versity) was also shared during workshop, she

provided complete procedure and protocol

about genotyping. Second session started after

refreshment, Dr. Muhammad Asif (Senior

Scientist) provided a detailed note on data

analysis in GBS. In addition, he discussed some

examples and plans of GBS in plants, after his

lecture students asked some important questions

about his talk, Dr. M Asif satisfied all partici-

pants by his knowledge, It was really a new

technique for all of us and the speaker drew our

full attention towards its importance. Associa-

tion Mapping using GBS and/or Single Nucleo-

tide Polymorphism (SNP) data was also a novel

approach and Mr. Javed Iqbal (PhD Scholar,

NIBGE) discussed his

research using these

techniques on size im-

provement of rice. Dr.

M. Arif (Principal Sci-

entist, NIBGE) gave

basic knowledge about

‘Tilling” and its applica-

tion in SNP Scoring and

gene identification, it

was a thought-provoking

knowledge and had a

great deals of informa-

tion for agronomists. Concluding ceremony was

inaugurated by Dr. Sobia Ikram after lunch

break, she also gave a brief overview of work-

shop activities, Dr. Mubarak Ali (Chief Execu-

tive, PARB) was the chief guest of event whe is

a senior member in Punjab Agriculture and

Research Board, he pleasely appreciated the

effort of NIBGE for organizing such events for

young researchers. Certificates were distributed

among participants and organizers and Director,

NIBGE submitted the vote of thanks. At the

end, audience shared their views about the said

event which were very encouraging for whole

organizing team; group photo was also taken

with guest, faculty members and participants.

Zaryab Khalid Sial PhD Scholar, LCWU Lahore

Workshop Corner [email protected]

Genotyping by Sequencing and its Application in Crop Improvement

Group photo of participants

Aftab Ahmed PhD Punjab University, Lahore (President NAYS)

Workshop/ Seminar Corner

Seminar on Palliative Cancer Care

A seminar was held on “Palliative Cancer Care”

at University of Health Science, Lahore. The

event was organized by Cancer Care Hospital

and Research Centre, Lahore which is project of

Cancer research and treatment foundation. Two

lectures on cancer status in Pakistan and pallia-

tive cancer care was delivered by Prof. Dr. Sha-

haryar (Professor of Oncology, King Edward

Medical University and President of the Cancer

Research and Treatment Foundation) and Dr.

Riaz ur Rehman (Oncology Department, Jinnah

Hospital, Lahore). During first lecture Prof.

Sheharyar highlighted the importance of more

cancer hospitals in Pakistan and also strongly

stressed on need for more research work in

Pakistan related to cancer. The statistics he

presented were frightening, according to him

there are 10 million new cases of cancer world-

wide and more than 50% die the same year and

this ratio is much more in developing countries

like Pakistan. He further added that there are

about 300,000 new cancer cases in Pakistan and

it result in more than 150,000 deaths each year

and one of big reason of high death rate is late

diagnosis of cancer and at this stage it becomes

un-treatable. According to him in Punjab only

there are 75 beds, 6 senior doctors and 10 junior

doctors for kids suffering from cancer which is

very less and in just Punjab province of Paki-

stan there are around 162,000 new cases of

cancer each year and we have facility of just

500 beds with only 35 specialist doctors in

this area.





He added that we treat around 41,000 of total

cases and for rest we don’t know details that

what treatment they get or where they go. He

said there is only one bone marrow transplant

unit in whole Punjab which is at Armed Forces

Research Institute in Rawalpindi while there is

not a single unit in Lahore or any other big city

of Punjab. In order to have a comparison with

neighboring country India he added that there is

only 2 clinical research organization related to

cancer in Pakistan while India have over 4000

so there is great need to do more investment in

research and education related to oncology as

according to one survey Pakistan rank 162 in

the world related to cancer related knowledge

and education. Dr. Riaz ur Rehman added that

cancer is 2nd leading cause of death after cardio-

vascular diseases. According to him 1 in 5 peo-

ple suffer from cancer at some stage of life and

in developing countries mortality rate is very

high. He further added that there is no concept

of palliative cancer care in Pakistan and we

need to start it. He also said that palliative can-

cer care is not only good for patient and his

family but also it will reduce the economic

losses of government as otherwise patient in

late stages have to get medicine from multina-

tional companies and they cost in millions and

ultimately person die by cancer. He added that

cancer research and treatment foundation is

going to start a 400 beds hospital for cancer

patients in Lahore and they will also have pal-

liative care facility in this hospital which will be

first facility of this kind in Pakistan. At the end

of his presentation he also presented a model of

palliative cancer care and how we can involve

paramedical staff, volunteers, family physicians

and palliative care experts to give best treatment

to patients and it will result in pain free cancer

death and death with dignity which are recom-

mendations of World Health Organization

(WHO).

Iqra Ejaz, Abeer Syed Faculty of Electronic Engineering, GIKI

Research Project in Human Computer Interaction [email protected]

SI-ARCS: Sketch Interpretation and Rationale Capture System

Gone are the days when we humans had to

jump into the reality created by machines to be

able to use them. The recent past has shifted the

research focus to human centered computing in

an attempt to make the physical world around

us intelligent and perceptive. Advances have

been made to impart intelligence to the sur-

roundings. This way machines are made to un-

derstand and perceive the real world. Speech,

gesture and vision recognition, if embedded in

the real world, would revolutionize the research

in engineering.

With this consideration, the initiative that we

have taken under the supervision of Professor

M. Junaid Mughal intends to bring the idea of

intelligence embedded systems to the engineer-

ing researchers at undergraduate level. Our

team comprises of four senior year students of

the Faculty of Electronic Engineering at GIK

Institute: Abeer Syed, Ayesha Khan, Iqra Ejaz,

Tauqeer Hussain.

Our project entitled Sketch Interpretation and

Rationale Capture System (SI-ARCS) is an

innovative look into the future of educational

system in Pakistan. Developed from scratch,

this software-hardware amalgamation is aimed

to interpret and understand everything that is

drawn or written on any surface; ‘A surface that

is as natural and easy to draw on as paper, yet

that understands what you draw.’-Randall

Davis, CSAIL-MIT.

SI-ARCS makes any smooth physical surface

intelligent enough to understand and recog-

nize a free hand sketch drawn by a digital

pen. This assembly presents an innovative

way of Human Computer Interaction (HCI).

It reduces the effort splendidly for an instruc-

tor/student to choose a component from the

library; he can sketch it freehandedly and get

it recognized with the aid of SI-ARCS.

The idea is practically realized with the

clever combination of an IR pen

(transmitter), that sends the information

about its position via IR rays; an IR camera

(sensor), that captures the co-ordinates of the

IR pen and feeds this real time data to the

software in the PC; the developed application

that first interprets the figure and then swiftly

corrects it in real time; and the projector that

simultaneously displays the image on any flat

surface.

The software application that we have devel-

oped is capable of recognizing, interpreting and

correcting any freehand sketch. The software is

written in C# using .Net Framework. The

beauty of the software lies in its absorbability

i.e. many shapes/sketches can be added to its

database as per requirement to diversify its use

for sketch interpretation.

SI-ARCS serves as a platform for a diverse

range of applications. Therefore, this project has

excellent prospects of being launched on a com-

mercial scale. Not only does it serve as a won-

drous teaching aid for the instructors of the

engineering domain but it also provides an op-

portunity for it to be integrated with many simu-

lation softwares. Besides its applicability in

academia, SI-ARCS can be used by musicians

to have their notes interpreted or even by chil-

dren to doodle on walls with the inkless pen.

Our inspiration to choose the domain of HCI

and then develop SI-ARCS, was the current

research that is being conducted in the state-of-

the-art research facilities all around the world

including MIT, Stanford and Microsoft. We

aimed at bringing a user-friendly teaching aid

that would have both educational and commer-

cial utilities, within the reach of the institutes of

Pakistan. But the vision doesn’t end here.

For us, SI-ARCS is not just an idea, it’s a reali-

zation.



Introduction

1. The threat of nuclear terrorism, especially

after 9/11, and the safety of nuclear installations

highlighted by nuclear disasters like Chernobyl

and Fukushima Nuclear Plant in 2011, has pro-

foundly changed the discourse of global regime

for nuclear safety and security. After the Fuku-

shima power plant disaster, the world leaders

sensed the urgency to discuss the issues of nu-

clear safety and security. In this regards, the

second Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in 2012

was held in Seoul. With the participation from

more than 53 heads of state and different inter-

national organizations, the agenda of summit

was set to discuss three main issues. This in-

clude (1) Cooperative measures to combat the

threat of nuclear terrorism, (2) Protection of

Nuclear material and related facilities and (3)

Prevention of Illicit trafficking of nuclear mate-

rials. The basic purpose of arranging this sum-

mit was to give strength to the international

efforts to prevent nuclear materials from being

misused by terrorist groups. President Obama in

his Prague’s speech in 2009 highlighted the

serious threat—nuclear terrorism—to interna-

tional security. Above and beyond, he expressed

his will to create ‘World free of nuclear weap-

ons.’ Pakistan also participated in the summit,

where Prime Minister Yousad Raza Gillian

represented his country. Pakistan participation

in the summit shows Pakistan’s commitment

and motivation to strengthen international coop-

eration to prevent the non-state actors to misuse

nuclear materials for any malicious activities.

2. After the events of 9/11 in United States, the

Western world is now quiet apprehensive about

the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. The

Western media, think tanks, newspapers and

their official reports painted a dark picture of

Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, falling in the hands

of radical, extremists, and fundamentalists Ji-

hadi networks, working in connection with Al-

Qaeda and Afghan Taliban. Scenarios were

developed about the possible theft of nuclear

materials or gaining access to nuclear weapons

by the extremist groups, might be facilitated by

some of the insiders as well outsiders, favorably

inclined towards Al-Qeada and Taliban’ politi-

cal and radical thoughts. On top of that, the

most discouraging scenario was developed por-

trays the fear of “radical Islamic movements

destabilize Pakistan,” and possibly transforms

“Pakistan into the first radical Islamic country

possessing nuclear weapons.” In addition, an-

other most heinous scenario about the security

of Pakistan nuclear arsenal was formulated—

“radical Islamic movements influencing mili-

tary people and or/scientists” to gain access to

the nuclear weapons and fissile materials.”

3. Despite possible concerns/scenarios about the

security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, the global

security threats or risks to nuclear materials or

nuclear installations/facilities as describes by

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in

“Nuclear Security Recommendation on Physical

Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear

Facilities;” are (a) the risk of unauthorized re-

moval of nuclear material with an intention to

engage in acts of nuclear terrorism, e.g. Radio-

active Dispersal Device (RDD) (b) risk of

physical attack or sabotage of nuclear installa-

tions; (c) risk of unauthorized removal of nu-

clear material for making Radioactive Dispersal

Device (RDD); and (d) theft or illegal transfer

of nuclear material or radioactive materials—

illicit trafficking.

Safety and Security Issues of Pakistan Nu-

clear Program.

1. The international propaganda campaign

against the safety and security of Pakistan’s

nuclear arsenal after the terrorist attacks on

Army General Head Quarters (GHQ) in 2009,

PNS Mehran attack in 2011, and Kamra Air

Base attack in 2012, has gained velocity. Over

and above, the increased number of terrorist

activities in the country, the political instability,

and the pace at which Pakistan is developing its

nuclear infrastructure, has also increased the

challenges to its nuclear safety and security

apparatus. Terrorist attack on Kamra Air Base

in 2012—the mostly deadly attack in recent

years—rejuvenates the global discourse regard-

ing the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

Prior to that, two attacks have already being

carried out on Kamra. As the result of 2012

Kamra Air Base attacks, new questions are

stirrer in the international media about terrorist

networks attacking and taking over Pakistan’s

nuclear arsenal

2. Pakistan has introduced an effective com-

mand and control structure in 2001. However,

with the passage of time, the global concerns

about Pakistan’s nuclear safety and security

were cultivated and scenarios were formulated

about the possibilities of terrorists getting nu-

clear materials from nuclear facilities, to make

nuclear explosion devices and RDD. Pakistan’s

nuclear program, for the last one and half dec-

ade, has got much attention and negatives pub-

licity from across the globe. During all this

propaganda campaign, there was not a single

credible day left when Pakistan did not defend

its nuclear program. The global propaganda

campaign coupled with deliberate piercing by

some “Pakistani nuclear pessimists,” has got

pace. In a recent interview with DAWN, Per-

vaiz Hoodboy hoists concerns about “Jihadi

Networks,” taking over key nuclear installations

to fulfill their political objectives. He deliber-

ately neglected Pakistan’s efforts to ensure the

nuclear safety and security of its nuclear arse-

nal. However, the question arises, are terrorists

networks attacking and taking over Pakistan

Nuclear weapons is a reality or it’s just a mere

myth?

3. P-5 nuclear weapons states have significant

number of nuclear weapons. On the other

hands, the de facto states –India, Pakistan, Is-

rael, and North Korea—are having sizeable

nuclear infrastructure. Pakistan falls under the

category of those states, which have not signed

Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) yet; however

Pakistan, has signed number of agreements with

the IAEA, based on guidelines contained in

Safeguards Document INFCIRC. Pakistan’s

plan to expand its nuclear program has come

under severe criticism, raising countless ques-

tions about its safety and security mechanism to

Ahmad Khan Research Associate, Strategic Vision Institute Islamabad Twitter Handle@ahmadkhan000.

Full length research paper Field: Strategic and Security Studies

[email protected]

Safety and Security of Pakistan’s Nuclear Program



guard its nuclear materials. However, President

Obama and to U.S officials have showed their

confidence in Pakistan’s nuclear security appa-

ratus.

Security System of Nuclear Weapons, Nu-

clear Materials, and Facilities:

1. In February 2000, Pakistan National Security

Council (NSC) established the National Com-

mand Authority (NCA), the apex civilian led

authority to supervise the employment, deploy-

ment, research and development, and command

and control structure of Pakistan nuclear pro-

gram. After its establishment, the NCA has took

measures for the safety and security of the nu-

clear arsenals, materials, and facilities, which

include the formalization of the nuclear safety

procedures, security of nuclear arsenals, physi-

cal protection, control, accounting and creation

of vital infrastructure and legislation. As Zafar

Nawaz Jaspal articulated, since the establish-

ment of Pakistan Nuclear Program, “it has insti-

tutionalized highly-secured system, which has

been improved gradually to thwart internal and

external security challenges,” posed to its nu-

clear program.

2. Security Division: The Security Division in

one the most important organs of the Strategic

Planning Division (SPD), responsible for the

security and protection of Pakistan nuclear arse-

nal, facilities and the entire strategic organiza-

tions. Today, the Security Division comprises

more than 20,000 highly trained, skillful secu-

rity personnel to guard the arsenal. Having said

so, these personnel are capable of protecting

both nuclear weapons and high sensitive strate-

gic facilities from any terrorist attacks. They are

trained to counter the terrorist attempt of sabo-

tage as well as any foreign power raid on the

nuclear facilities. This security division is

headed by a two Star General, who has his ‘eyes

and ears’ inside the strategic organizations.

3. Personal Reliability Program (PRP): “The

security clearance and screening processes of all

individuals for employment in the strategic

organizations has been further consolidated

through the enhancement of PRP. The SPD has

overall approval of key personnel and also re-

tains information on all retired personnel.” Be-

sides PRP for military personnel, SPD has also

introduced Human Reliability Program (HRP)

for civilian. All these efforts are made to pre-

vent the insiders’ link with any terrorist organi-

zations or groups. Any individual dispensed a

strategic task goes through multiple intelligence

agencies security clearances, which is very

much similar to the Unites States Safety and

Security System.

In Pakistan, The Warheads and the delivery

systems are separated from each other, so that

the chances of accidental or unauthorized

launch of the weapons can be prevented. Fur-

thermore, the individuals who have information

about the locations of the nuclear weapons are

strictly monitored and ought to be under con-

stant surveillance.

4. Physical Protection of Nuclear Facilities:

The Security Division is the solely responsible

for the physical protection of all the civilian and

military nuclear installations. Today, it is fully

established and operating a multilayered secu-

rity perimeter to protect the nuclear installa-

tions. The first layer encompasses of the secu-

rity personnel from the respective organization;

however, it works in coordination with the SPD.

Prior to that the providing security to the instal-

lations was the sole responsibility of the respec-

tive organization. In the Inner Perimeter, the

specially trained forces operate on a permanent

basis. In the Outer Perimeter, additional fencing

is being reinforced by installing closed circuit

cameras and electronic sensors. Besides inner

and outer security arrangements, an Air Defense

System around the particular nuclear facility is

also installed. The sensitivity of the nuclear

installations is protected by Air Defenses ele-

ments, and is designated as no-fly zones. The

last tier of the Physical Protection System con-

sists of counter-intelligence teams, who are

tasked to indentify the external threats to facili-

ties and provide covert security.

5. Transportation Security: While transport-

ing the nuclear materials—the nuclear waste,

and radioactive materials—can become a poten-

tial target for the terrorists. “The security and

protection of materials, such as Spent Nuclear

Fuel (SNF) and highly radioactive sources is

more difficult especially transit when in fixed

locations.” Pakistan has approved the Conven-

tion on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material

(CPPNM) during 2000, and worked to ensure

that it meets all the guidelines included in the

convection. In 2005, an amendment was intro-

duced in the convection; however, “officials are

also considering accession to the July 2005

amendments that are intended to strengthen the

CPPNM.” Above all, “specialist vehicles and

tamper-proof containers are provided for the

transportations of nuclear materials that are

escorted by military personnel.”

6. Fissile Material Protection, Control and

Accounting: The A.Q Khan Proliferation saga

has forced Pakistan to introduce strict measures

for protection of fissile material. Prior A.Q

Khan Chapter, there were no “formal reporting

channel of the apparatus” that could check the

account for shipments and personal travels. In

fact, no formal procedures existed for the physi-

cal protection and accounting (MPC&A). To-

day, the SPD has adopted strict measures to

conduct external audits on the nuclear invento-

ries, and implementing regular and surprise

inspections at all facilities.

7. Export Control Regimes: In 2001, Pakistan

established a Strategic Export Control Division

(SEDIV) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The

SEDIV comprises of personnel form Customs,

Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, De-

fence, Federal board of Revenue. In addition,

the personnel from PEAC, PNRA, and SPD

also work in coordination with the rest of the

personnel. SEDIV operates independently so

that personnel will not face any conflict of inter-

est. To oversee SEDIV, a board is also formu-

lated, headed by the Foreign Secretary and other

high-level officials to implement of the act.

8. International Agreements to Prevent Nu-

clear Terrorism: Pakistan has joined the US

led Container Security Initiative (CSI) in 2006

and Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terror-

ism (GICNT) in 2007. Pakistan has also cooper-

ated with Secure Freight Initiative (SFI). Paki-

stan for the last one decade is actively partici-

pating in all these agreement to prevent the

nuclear or radiological terrorism23.

9. Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority

(PNRA): In 1994, Pakistan signed Convection

of Nuclear Safety (CNS). In order to fulfill the

obligation under CNS, each member state has to

establish an independent regulatory body. In

this regards, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Body

came into being under Pakistan Atomic Energy

Commission (PAEC). “To further this process

of having independent regulatory infrastruc-

ture,” Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority

(PNRA) was established “after the promulga-

tion of PNRA Ordinance 2001.” PRNA is an

independent organization responsible for regu-

lating all the aspects of radiation and nuclear

energy.


It issues licensed for export control of radiologi-

cal materials. Furthermore, it regulates, and

supervises all the matters relating to nuclear

safety and radiation protection. PNRA being a

multilateral coordinating agency is responsible

for interacting with domestic and foreign enti-

ties. “PNRA in coordination with IAEA evalu-

ates and submits reports in compliance with UN

Security Council Resolution 1540, which calls

for national measures to prevent non-state ac-

tors from obtaining highly dangerous weapons.”

10. Radiological Source Security: The PNRA

is tasked to protect workers in the facilities,

public, and the environment against accidental

or malicious acts involving nuclear materials

and facilities. It continuously reviews and up-

dates safety and security measures according to

recommendations and guidance received from

the IAEA. Pakistan has signed the CSI, which

provided radiation detectors at Karachi port.

Pakistan also participates in the IAEA Illicit

Trafficking Database, to share information on

incidents involving theft, loss, or pilferage of

radiological materials. Pakistan is working to

cooperate with the U.S. Department of Energy

on export and border control programs.

11. Nuclear Security Summit (NSS): Pakistan

has participated in two NSS in 2010 and 2012.

During his address in Seoul NSS Prime Minis-

ter Yousaf Raza Gillani said, “Pakistan has

taken effective measures which are the most

important part of its efforts to enhance nuclear

security.” He also said, “As we meet here, we

break new ground on the evolving global nu-

clear security architecture, the role of the IAEA,

a n d

p r o t e c -

tion of

nuclear

mate r i -

als and

radioac-

t i v e

sources.” Pakistan offered her support to the

international community in establishing Nuclear

Security Training and Support Centers. Besides,

Pakistan also agreed to deploy Portal Monitors

to detect smuggling of nuclear materials in or-

der to prevent the illicit trafficking.

12. Nuclear Plant Stress Test: After the Fuku-

shima power plant disaster, the debate about

safety of the nuclear power plants gained new

pace. Moreover, the debate was further fueled

right before the beginning of the NSS in Seoul.

Scores of concerns were raised in the world

about the safety of the nuclear energy. After

Fukushima, Pakistan immediately carried out

IAEA recommended ‘stress tests’ on its civilian

nuclear power plants, which were very success-

ful.

13. International Cooperation: Pakistan has

signed number of agreements with the IAEA

demonstrating its firm commitments, and strong

level of cooperation with the IAEA. The most

important agreement in this regard is the Tech-

nical Cooperation (TC). In addition, “Pakistan

is currently one of the top three recipient coun-

tries in terms of TC assistance and receives

around $ 2-3 million worth of Assistance annu-

ally.” “Pakistan was among the first countries

that submitted a report to the UN to fulfill its

obligations under the UNSCR 1540.” More to

the point, Pakistan has also applied Facility

Specific Safeguards (INFCIRC/66). “Pakistan

has also made political commitment to apply

the non-binding IAEA Code of Conduct on the

Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and

also participates in the IAEA Illicit Trafficking

Database (ITDB).”

In October 2001, Pakistan also initiated a bilat-

eral dialogue with U.S to improve its nuclear

security. U.S officials have repeatedly ex-

pressed their satisfaction over nuclear safety

and security apparatus of Pakistan. On Septem-

ber 22, 2008, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

Admiral Michael Mullen described U.S. con-

cerns that,

to the best of my ability to understand it—and

that is with some ability—the weapons there

are secure. And, that even in the change of

government, the controls of those weapons

haven’t changed. Certainly at a worst-case

scenario with respect to Pakistan, I worry a

great deal about those weapons falling into the

hands of terrorists and either being proliferated

or potentially used. And so, control of those,

stability, stable control of those weapons is a

key concern. And I think certainly the Pakistani

leadership that I've spoken with on both the

military and civilian side understands that.

After the terrorist attack on the Minhas Air Base

in 2012, the State Department Spokeswoman

Victoria Nuland said that “We do talk about

these issues and support Pakistani efforts to

keep them secure — we have for quite a long,

long time. And we don’t have any reason to be

concerned at this moment.” During the Foreign

Ministry weekly press briefing, spokesperson

Moazzam Ali Khan said, “Pakistan’s strategic

assets are safe and sound and we have a robust

command and control in place, so nobody

should worry about the safety and security of

our nuclear assets.”

Conclusion: The terrorist attack on twin towers

and Fukushima power plant disaster has

changed the whole global discourse of the nu-

clear safety and security. Prior to Fukushima,

not much attention has been paid to the safety

of the nuclear power plants. On the other hand,

a lot debate has been carried out on the issue of

security of the nuclear arsenal. In this regards,

Pakistan has been made a punching pad. De-

spite the political turmoil and the country facing

both kinetic and non-kinetic threats, its nuclear

weapons are the jewel of her crown. In fact,

Pakistan has unearthed all the stones to make its

nuclear safety and security apparatus stringent.

Scenarios developed against the possible theft

of nuclear materials, and revolutionist group in

connection with military and persons working

inside the nuclear facilities .


References

1. “Overview,” thenuclearsecuritysummit.org, ac-

cessed on March 10, 2013, http://www.thenuclearsecuritysummit.org/eng_info/

overview.jsp.

2. Maurizio Martellini, “Nuclear Safety, nuclear sta-

bility and nuclear strategy in Pakistan: A concise

report of a visit by Landau Network-Centro Volta,” Pugwash Online, February 9-13, 2008, accessed on

February 25, 2013, http://www.pugwash.org/

september11/pakistan-nuclear.htm.

3. Ibid.

4. “Nuclear Security Recommendation on Physical

Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facili-ties,” International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA

Nuclear Security Series no.13, accessed on February

25, 2013, http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/

publications/PDF/Pub1481_web.pdf, 3.

5. Naeem Salik and Kenneth N. Luongo, “Challenges for Pakistan’s Nuclear Security,” Arms Control Asso-

ciation, March 2013,

accessed on March 20, 2013, http://

www.armscontrol.org/

act/2013_03/Challenges-for-

Pakistans-Nuclear-

Security.

6. Ibid.

7. Many Western

experts believe that at

Kamra 100 nuclear warheads were stored,

and terrorists aimed to

attack the nuclear

arsenals. However,

according to Pakistani

official report is not credible and lacks

does not depicts the true picture of Pakistan nuclear

security apparatus. See Declan Walsh, “Militants attack Pakistani Air Base,” The New York Times,

August 16, 2012, accessed on March 10, 2013, http://

www.nytimes.com/2012/08/17/world/asia/pakistani-air-force-base-with-nuclear-ties-is-attacked.html?

_r=0.; Salik and Luongo, “Challenges to Pakistan

Nuclear Security.”

8. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, “Pakistan’s nuclear weapons

safety and security,” The Nation, February 23, 2013, accessed on February 28, 2013, http://

www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-

english-online/columns/23-Feb-2013/pakistan-s-

nuclear-weapons-safety-and-security.

9. Pervaiz Hoodboy, interview to DAWN, DAWN, February 20, 2013, accessed on February 28, 2013,

http://dawn.com/2013/02/20/pervez-hoodbhoy-the-

bomb-is-immoral/.

10. Henry D. Sokolski, “Pakistan’s Nuclear Woes,” in

Pakistan’s Nuclear Future: Worries beyond War, (ed.) Henry D. Sokolski (United States: Strategic

Studies Institute, 2008), 5.

11. “Pakistan establishes Nuclear Control Body,”

Arms Control Today, March 2000, accessed on Febru-

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www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-

english-online/columns/23-Feb-2013/pakistan-s-nuclear-weapons-safety-and-security; and also see

“Pakistan’s Nuclear Safety and Security: A Critical

Analysis,” Weekly Pulse, March 06, 2013, accessed on March 10, 2013, http://weeklypulse.org/

details.aspx?contentID=3368&storylist=1.

13. “Passing out of soldiers of Strategic Plans Divi-

sion held,” Pakistan Today, April 19, 2012, accessed

on February 27, 2013, http://paksoldiers.com/ispr-press-releases/passing-out-of-soldiers-of-strategic-

plans-division-held/.

14. Kenneth N. Luongo and Naeem Salik, “Building

Confidence in Pakistan’s Nuclear Security,” Arms

Control Today, December 1, 2007.

15. Jaspal, “Pakistan’s nuclear weapons safety and

security.”

16. Naeem Salik, The Genesis of South Asian Nuclear

Deterrence: Pakistan’s Perspective (Karachi: Oxford

University Press, 2009), 284.

17. Abdul Manan, “Preventing Nuclear Terrorism in

Pakistan: Sabotage of Spent Fuel Cask or a Commer-

cial Irradiation Source in Transportation,” in Paki-stan’s Nuclear Future: Worries Beyond War, ed.

Henry Sokolski (United States: Institute of Strategic

Studies Army War College, 2008), 235.

18. Luongo and Salik, “Building Confidence in Paki-

stan’s Nuclear Security.”


security.”

20. Peter Levoy, “Islamabad’s Nuclear Posture: Its

Premises and Implementation,” in Pakistan’s Nuclear Future: Worries Beyond War, ed. Henry Sokolski

(United States: Institute of Strategic Studies Army

War College, 2008), 152.

21. “Strategic Export Control Division,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan, accessed on

February 27, 2013, http://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/

pages/article.aspx?id=25&type=4.

22. Ibid.

23. Philip E. Coyle and Victoria Samson, “The Prolif-

eration Security Initiative: Background, history and

Prospects for the Future,” International Commission

on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, 10.

24. Noreen Iftakhar, “Safety and Security of Paki-stan’s Civilian Nuclear Industry,” South Asian Strate-

gic Stability Institute, Research Paper no.31, 4.

25. Luongo and Salik, “Building Confidence in Paki-

stan’s Nuclear Security.” And also See “Safe Port Act

Reauthorization: Securing our Nation's Critical infra-structure,” United State Senate, Hearing before Com-

mittee on Commerce, Science and Transportation,

July 21, 2010, 29, accessed on March 1, 2013, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111shrg67271/html/

CHRG-111shrg67271.htm.

26. “Seoul Nuclear Security Summit,” Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China, March

28, 2012, accessed on March 2, 2013, http://

www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt/2649/t920452.shtml.

27. “Seoul Summit: ‘Responsible’ Pakistan seeks civil nuclear tech,” The Express Tribune, March 27, 2012,

accessed on March 2, 2013, http://tribune.com.pk/

story/355715/seoul-summit-responsible-pakistan-

seeks-civil-nuclear-tech/.

28. Ibid.

29. Pakistan pledged to establish Nuclear Security

Training and Support Center within the region and outside the region in collaboration with 22 countries.

See Salik and Luongo, “Challenges for Pakistan’s

Nuclear Security.”

30. In an interview, Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khan, who was also the chief negotiator on

Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), told about the ‘stress

tests’ conducted by Pakistan on its nuclear power plants. See “Pakistan nuclear plants undergo stress

tests,” The Nation, March 25, 2012, accessed on

March 2, 2013, http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/25

-Mar-2012/pak-nuclear-plants-undergo-stress-tests.

31. Iftakhar, “Safety and Security of Pakistan’s Civil-

ian Nuclear Industry,” 14.


security.” And also see “Pakistan nuclear plants un-

dergo stress tests,” The Nation, March 25, 2012, ac-cessed on March 2, 2013, http://www.nation.com.pk/

pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/

international/25-Mar-2012/pak-nuclear-plants-

undergo-stress-tests.

33. Iftakhar, “Safety and Security of Pakistan’s Civil-

ian Nuclear Industry,” 12.

34. Paul K. Kerr and Mary Beth Nikitin, “Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues,”

Congressional Research Services, February 13, 2013,

accessed March 25, 2013, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34248.pdf, 1; Malik Qasim Mustafa, “Are

Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons Safe,” Institute of Strate-

gic Studies, Islamabad, accessed on March 25, 2013, http://www.issi.org.pk/publication-

files/1299650081_87535106.pdf, 4.

35. “US confident of Pakistan nuclear security,” The

Express Tribune, August 17, 2012, accessed on

March 25, 2013, http://tribune.com.pk/story/423242/

us-confident-of-pakistan-nuclear-security/.

36. “Pakistan reiterates nuclear assets are safe,” The Express Tribune, August 16, 2012, accessed on

March 25, 2013, http://tribune.com.pk/story/422953/

pakistan-reiterates-nuclear-assets-are-safe/.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/17/world/asia/pakistani-air-force-base-with-nuclear-ties-is-attacked.html?_r=0




http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/23-Feb-2013/pakistan-s-nuclear-weapons-safety-and-security




http://dawn.com/2013/02/20/pervez-hoodbhoy-the-bomb-is-immoral/

http://dawn.com/2013/02/20/pervez-hoodbhoy-the-bomb-is-immoral/

http://www.armscontrol.org/node/2899





http://weeklypulse.org/details.aspx?contentID=3368&storylist=1

http://weeklypulse.org/details.aspx?contentID=3368&storylist=1

http://paksoldiers.com/ispr-press-releases/passing-out-of-soldiers-of-strategic-plans-division-held/



http://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=25&type=4

http://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=25&type=4

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111shrg67271/html/CHRG-111shrg67271.htm



http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt/2649/t920452.shtml

http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt/2649/t920452.shtml

http://tribune.com.pk/story/355715/seoul-summit-responsible-pakistan-seeks-civil-nuclear-tech/



http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/25-Mar-2012/pak-nuclear-plants-undergo-stress-tests







http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34248.pdf

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34248.pdf

http://www.issi.org.pk/publication-files/1299650081_87535106.pdf

http://www.issi.org.pk/publication-files/1299650081_87535106.pdf

http://tribune.com.pk/story/423242/us-confident-of-pakistan-nuclear-security/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/423242/us-confident-of-pakistan-nuclear-security/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/422953/pakistan-reiterates-nuclear-assets-are-safe/

http://tribune.com.pk/story/422953/pakistan-reiterates-nuclear-assets-are-safe/


Mehwish Tanveer*, Tariq Ali^, Munazza Khalid*, Daniya Anwer*, Anum Shahnawaz*, Huma Talib*, Israh Ausaf * *Pharm D Graduates, ^Assistant Professor DOW College of Pharmacy, DOW University of Health Sciences

Field: Pharmacy Research Article

[email protected]

Wireless Drug Delivery System

An Innovative Approach and its Awareness among Health Care Professionals

ABSTRACT

Micro-electronic devices have become integral

part of our lives. This review examines emerg-

ing technology in drug delivery system that is

wireless controlled microchip technology. For

this purpose, a review based survey was con-

ducted to find the level of awareness among

health care professionals. Wireless drug deliv-

ery system (WDDS) is an innovative approach

to enhance patient compliance which is a major

issue especially in patients with chronic ail-

ments that require daily complex dosage regi-

men. The microchips devices implanted in pa-

tients and controlled by microprocessor wireless

communication. WDDS has the potential to

improve patient compliance. It is an ‘intelligent

system’ which provides real time dose schedule

tracking and physicians to adjust the treatment

while away from patient.

INTRODUCTION

A perspective drug delivery system may be

defined as mechanism to introduce therapeutic

agent into the body. Drug delivery systems had

an enormous impact on medical technology and

enabling the use of entirely new therapies [1].

Our lives have been revolutionized due to the

invention of micro-electronic devices. They are

present in our automobiles, cellular phones and

computers [2]. This stimulated the development

of innovative technologies in drug delivery

system. Recent advances created the possibility

to meet the patient need. For this a new drug

delivery system is designed that is wireless

control drug delivery system that works through

“microchip” [3].

Microchip: Microchips are smart medical im-

plants that can dispense drugs into the blood-

stream as a result of wireless signals sent to it

from the medical implant communication ser-

vice (MICS)[4]. These chips offer a range of

advantages including localized delivery, deliv-

ery on demand, controlled drug release, dose

checking and physician remotely adjust treat-

ment schedule [5]. This smart implant can be

injected under the skin in the doctor's office in

about 30 minutes using a local anesthetic and

lasts about four months before needing to be

replaced [7].

Need of Wireless Drug Delivery System:

Wireless drug delivery system has the potential

to improve patient compliance as it is a major

medical issue, especially in chronic diseases.

Such issues include simply forgetting (65%);

concerns about the drugs (45%) and feeling the

drug is unnecessary (43%) because of long term

and complex drug regimen [8]. Therefore, it is

of a great advantage to find a drug delivery

device that is capable of controlled release of a

wide variety of drugs that can be safely im-

planted inside the body [10]. If future research

is promising, the technology could be used to

treat a wide range of conditions that require

frequent or daily injections.

Food and Drug Administration Status To

achieve marketing approval, implantable drug

delivery devices are submitted to the Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) for approval as

combination products and expects to get the

device cleared by the FDA an in the market

sometime in 2014 [3].

Future Challenges and Opportunities: Hur-

dles in commercial development of drug deliv-

ery systems are that they are complex to eco-

nomically manufacture, high cost, invasiveness

and payload limitation. On the other hand, ele-

ments for successful implementation are proof

of technological feasibility, a regulatory ap-

proval, greater emphasis on advanced delivery

systems and capability to address significant

unmet medical needs [5].

METHODOLOGY

This review examines emerging technology in

drug delivery system. For this, articles from

wide range of sources were searched like pub-

med, springer link, google scholar, science

direct, wiley and other online libraries. Also a

survey was conducted to know the awareness

of latest technologies in our set up among

health care professionals and students by pro-

viding a 16-item based questionnaire. A total of

138 questionnaires were retrieved out of 200

with the response rate of 69%.

RESULTS OF AWARENESS SURVEY

It seems that overall response about the aware-

ness of WDDS is negative. About 72 % don’t

have any idea about WDDS, about 18% has

some idea and healthcare professionals do not

have enough knowledge and understanding

about DDS and WDDS. After giving some

information about the system, 75.3% show a

positive response towards the future applica-

tions of WDDS and about 24.7% show negative

response as they think that WDDS is difficult to

implement.

CONCLUSION

The convergence of drug delivery and elec-

tronic technologies gives physicians a real-time

connection to their patient’s health [3]. Techni-

cal success is a prerequisite but does not guar-

antee commercial success. Advanced drug

delivery development provides a mix of failures

Fig. 1 The Microchip implant contains 100 or

more tiny reservoirs curved into silicon wafer.

On wireless command the lid a sandwich of

platinum and titanium foil vaporizes and re-

leases the drug stored underneath



and successes so it is difficult to predict the success of innovative prod-

ucts. So new technologies are only useful if they can be commercialized,

and drug delivery applications cannot be commercialized without a regu-

latory environment sufficiently adaptable to support marketing approval

of innovative products [5]. It seems to have an innovative discovery for

mankind which has pharmacy on a chip, enhancing patient compliance. In

a nutshell, microchip provides a new treatment option for clinicians where

sub-optimal performance of conventional dosing methods is inconvenient

in terms of safety, efficacy and pain. This avoids the compliance issue and

points to a future where you have fully automated drug regimens.

REFERENCES

1. David A Lanvan, Terry McGuire & Robert Langer “Small-scale systems for in-

vivo drugdelivery.”

2. Santini J, Richards AC, Scheidt R, Cima MJ & Langer R ”Microchips as con-

trolled drug delivery devices” Angew Chem.Int.Ed.2000,39,2396-2407.

3. Dolan B. “Results from wireless, implantable drug delivery device study”. Sci-

ence Transitional Medicine, 2012.

4. Johnson R.C. “Wireless Implant Meters Drug Doses”. 2012.

5. Staples M. “Microchips and controlled-release drug reservoirs”. Wiley online

library. 2010.

6. Maloney J. M. “an implantable microfabricated drug delivery system”. Interna-

tional Mechanical Engineering Congress. 2003.

7. Pandolfino J.E , Richter J.E , Ours T , Guardino J.M , Chapman J, Kahrilas P T.

“Ambulatory Esophageal pH Monitoring Using a Wireless System”. The American

Journal of Gastroenterology (2003) 98, 740–749.

8. Wertheimer A. “Medication Compliance Research: Still So Far to Go”. Journal

of Applied Research.

9. Maloney J.M, Uhland S, Polito b, Sheppard N, Pelta C, Santin J.T. “Electro

thermally activated microchip for implantable drug delivery & biosensing, journal

of controlled release, 109 244-255,2012.

10. Viral Shah, Kruti Patel, U.M. Upadhyay “Injecting New Ideas Into Drug-

Delivery Systems-A Brief Review on Microchips as Controlled Drug-Delivery

System”. The Pharma Review, JAN 2010.

11. Trafton A. “MIT News Office Clinical trial of the programmable, implantable

device shows promise in treating osteoporosis”.

12. Laura J, Martin M. “Drug-Delivery Microchip Could Replace Daily Injec-

tions”.

13. Boyle R. “A wirelessly controlled pharmacy dispenses drug from within your

abdomen”. 2012.

14. Johnson R.C. “Wireless Implant Meters Drug Doses”. 2012.

15. “Improving patient compliance with low-cost wireless technologies”. 2006.

16. Lavan D, Mcguire T, Langer R. “Small scale system for in vivo drug delivery”.

Nature biotechnology.

17. Rebecca Boyle “A Wirelessly Controlled Pharmacy Dispenses Drugs From

Within Your Abdomen”, 2012 Feb.

Fig. 3 Mechanism of the drug introduction and release in body

Fig. 2. Pharmacy inside your body


Muhammad Ali Lecturer, Institute of advanced materials, BZU, Multan [email protected]

Scientific Article Material Sciences

The Story of Frozen Smoke

In late 1920’s, a professor of chemistry S. S.

Kistler and his colleague professor S. Learned

bet over the reason behind the stability of gel

like matter (jelly/semi-solid). The former justi-

fied it as the function of structural network of

microscopic pores, whereas the latter, nullifying

the role of porous structure, attributed the semi-

solid behaviour to properties of the liquid it

contains. To prove his proposition, Kistler went

on to remove the liquid component (alcohol)

from the silica-gel. The problem he faced in

doing so was quite expected that the conven-

tional evaporation of the liquid rendered the

structure to collapse. After several attempts he

succeeded in his objective and formed a mate-

rial having structure of a gel but with no liquid

contents. Removal of liquid from alcogel (silica

-gel with alcohol inside the pores) was con-

ducted through ‘supercritical drying’ employ-

ing the combined action of temperature and

pressure. As the alcohol was replaced with air

in the gel, so the alco with aero in the terminol-

ogy.

Common types and properties: Aerogels can

contain up to 96% of air in the nano-pockets

resulting in the lowest density solid and hence

the nickname frozen smoke or solid smoke. Gen-

erally, these materials exhibit excellent durabil-

ity, high strength coupled with brittleness, in-

credibly large surface area and fire proof char-

acteristics (except those made from carbon-

based materials). Aerogels can be made from

silica, metal oxides (iron oxide, alumina,

chromia and so on), polymers and carbon-based

materials. Silica aerogels, the most common

type, have translucence and insulating proper-

ties. They are used in building and window

glass and tennis rackets etc. They are light blue

in colour; the reason for which is same as for

the colour of sky (i.e. Rayleigh scattering).

Aerogels made from metal oxides can be mag-

netic in nature and found prominent uses in the

production of carbon nanotubes and catalyst

carriers in chemical industry. Among the

aerogel community, multiwalled carbon nano-

tube (MWCNT) aerogels, in the monolithic

form, are the lightest with density as low as 4

mg/cm3. Their major applications include elec-

tronic components, super-capacitors, fuel cells

and sensors to detect toxic substances. CNT-

based aerogels can be made super-elastic by

infusing a compatible polymeric material

therein. Experiments have been conducted

showing successful preparation of flexible and

non-fragile aerogels (x-aerogels).

Aerogels in space: In studying the chemical

reactions, often the gravitational effect is ne-

glected. But its influence on the pores character-

istics of aerogels has been proved from the ex-

periments conducted in space (under zero grav-

ity) during 1998-99 space mission. Regardless

of its ultra-high cost, it is a standalone material

in many high-tech applications. It is a best

space-dust collector offering excellent perform-

ance even against the speedy comets. Its ability

to retain properties at elevated temperatures

makes it a perfect insulating material for electri-

cal machinery of space rovers and for heat

shields of the same.

Future implications: Despite of the unique

properties of aerogels, the only hindrance to

their adaptability on commercial scale is heavy

(not merely high) cost associated with quality

synthesis. Currently it costs more than double

the price of gold. Once it becomes cost efficient

for public approach it would be seen in sundry

everyday usables such as cosmetics, wetsuits,

fire-fighter suits, windows, paints, tennis rack-

ets and so on. Due to high surface area, strength

and translucence, it can be a good material to

support photocatalyst to convert water into hy-

drogen and oxygen thereby operating a fuel cell.

If becomes possible on large scale, it will be a

revolution in green energy.

Want to make aerogel? Putting the quality

issue aside, silica aerogels can be synthesised

conveniently. What required for accomplishing

it are basic understanding of sol-gel chemistry

to prepare the gel and an autoclave for super-

critical cooling. In lieu of alcohol, use of ace-

tone or supercritical carbon dioxide makes the

process less hazardous. However, precautionary

measures must be exercised as silica fumes may

be carcinogenic.

References: 1. Nature 127, 741 2. ACS Nano, 4(12), 7293 – 7302

Sheeba Wajid Student M.Sc. Biochemistry, University of Karachi

Scientific article/ Biomedical Sciences [email protected]

Diabetes Mellitus

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease in

which blood glucose level becomes high,

either because some special type of cells

(the islet of Langerhans’s cells) of pancreas

do not secrete enough insulin or pancreatic

beta cells do not respond towards insulin.

Classification of Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is generally grouped into two

major types. The first one is insulin de-

pendent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and

the other is non-insulin dependent diabe-

tes mellitus (NIDDM). Another type is

also known and that is gestational diabe-

tes. In type-1 diabetes, the beta cells that

synthesize insulin get destroyed. This type

of diabetes strats in early childhood. Symp-

toms of IDDM may include rapid weight

loss, frequent urination, increased hunger,

increased thirst, blurred vision and tired-

ness. It is treated by diet and regular exer-

cise is recommended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin


On the other hand, Type-2 or non-insulin-

dependent (NIDDM) diabetes is more

common than type-1 diabetes. In this kind

of disease, either the pancreas does not

make enough insulin or the body cells do

not respond to insulin. Symptoms of type-2

diabetes are closely similar to that of Type-

1 diabetes. Long term effects include heart

disease, kidney problems and other disor-

ders of vision and nerve damage. It is

treated by diet, exercise, medications and

insulin injections and by controlling

weight. While Gestational diabetes is dif-

ferent from other types as it occurs in some

pregnant women. It can also be cured by

diet, exercise and weight loss. It is unique

in the sense that it usually disappears after

childbirth.

Prevalence Rate of Diabetes Mellitus

Prevalence rates of diabetes mellitus vary

amongst populations. Pronounced changes

in our surroundings and new generation

lifestyle cause globalization and due to

this, both obesity and diabetes rates greatly

increase. Hence a new word ‘diabesity’ has

also been introduced for the aforemen-

tioned disease. It has been estimated by the

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) that

the global number of diabetic persons will

become double over the next 25 years. In

Sindh province of Pakistan, the prevalence

of Type-2 DM was 13.9% and in Baluchis-

tan, it was 8.6%.

Alternative Medicines

The use of alternative medicines

has increased throughout the world for

treatment of diabetes mellitus. The use of

such type of medicines can be differenti-

ated into pharmacological category

(namely herbal treatments), physical reme-

dies (acupuncture) and dietary approaches.

Some plants have been shown to contain

hypoglycemic agents. Such plants include

Aloe vera, Osmium sanctum, Trigonella

foenum-graecum, Ficus carica, Opuntia

streptacantha, Gymnema sylvestre and

Momordica charantia. These plants have

been regarded to have potent anti-diabetic

activity.

Diabetic Meal Plan

If you intend to control your

blood sugar, you should focus on foods

that your body digests slowly but make

sure that the foods should be nutritious too.

Beans are rich in fiber that decrease your

digestion process. Grains are also high in

fiber and are able to lower glycemic index.

Some of the fruits and vegetables

(broccoli, bell peppers, onions, string beans

and eggplant are typically low in calories)

are also a good source of lowering weight.

With these foods there are some high gly-

cemic index foods. Diabetics should avoid

white rice, white pasta, white flour, white

sugar, caffeine foods, alcohol and artificial

sweeteners.

Who Can Exercise?

It is advisable by the doctors to the patients

to do exercise when they have less blood

sugar level than 250 mg/dl.

Exercise should be avoided in case of

health problems including damage to the

blood vessels of the eye, damage to the

nerves and circulation to extremities, kid-

ney damage and cardiovascular problems

such as angina, embolism.

Some Precautions For Diabetics Who

Exercise

To avoid injuries and wounds in feet, wear

protective foot wears.

People with diabetes should monitor their

blood glucose level carefully before, dur-

ing, and after workouts.

If your glucose levels are above 300 mg/dl

or under 100 mg/dl you should avoid exer-

cise.

Insulin should be injected away from the

muscles to avoid hypoglycemia.

Before exercising, diabetics should avoid

alcohol and beta-blockers, which is the

major cause to increase hypoglycemia.


Dr. Wasim Ahmad is a well known name in

biological sciences in Pakistan. He is an HEC-

Distinguished National Professor; currently

serving as a Tenured Professor at the Depart-

ment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological

Sciences, Quid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.

Prof. Dr. Wasim Ahmad was born on May 2,

1957 in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He

received his early education from Peshawar. He

completed his M.Sc. in 1981 from Department

of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam Univer-

sity Islamabad. He then chose the same depart-

ment to complete his M.Phil. in biochemistry/

molecular biology in 1984 and then left to Eng-

land for Ph.D. and got admission in Department

of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge,

England. He completed his Ph.D. in 1990.

Prof. Dr. Wasim Ahmad got Postdoctoral Re-

search Experience from prestigious institutions

like MRC-Molecular Medicine, Royal Post-

graduate Medical School, London (1990-1992);

University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama

USA (1992-1994); Telethon Institute of Genet-

ics and Medicine (TIGEM), Italy (1997); and

Department of Dermatology Columbia Univer-

sity New York (1997-1999).

Prof. Wasim Ahmad started his career as a re-

searcher after completing his Ph.D. He has been

a postdoctoral research fellow in well known

international institutions for many years. He

returned to Pakistan after twelve years of re-

search and joined his parent institution Quaid-I-

Azam University as assistant professor, Depart-

ment of Biological Sciences in 1999. He

worked for three years and then promoted to

Associate Professor in the same department in

2003.

Department of Biochemistry was established in

2006 in Quid-I-Azam University and since then

Dr. Wasim Ahmad is working as a Professor of

Biochemistry there.

Prof Dr. Wasim Ahmad is actively engaged in

scientific research. His main areas of interest

are Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of

inherited Diseases. He has completed a number

of projects funded by Higher Education Com-

mission (HEC), Pakistan and Pakistan Science

Foundation (PSF). These include Identification

and Cloning of Inherited Alopecia, Ectodermal

Dysplasia and Nail Dysplasia Genes (2002-

2005), Identification of Genes Involved in He-

reditary Hearing Impairment (2003-2005)

funded By Higher Education Commission

(HEC), Pakistan and Identification of Loci/

Genes in Five Pakistani Kindred’s with Ecto-

dermal Dysplasia (2000-2003) funded by Paki-

stan Science Foundation (PSF). He also com-

pleted a project namely Identification of Loci/

Genes in Pakistani Kindreds showing hereditary

hearing impairment in 2002 funded by Quaid-I

-Azam University Research Fund .

In addition, he has internationally funded and

completed projects to his credit, namely Identi-

fication of Loci/Genes in Pakistani Kindreds

with Inherited Neurological Disorders (2001-

2004) Funded by ISESCO Rabat Morocco. He

is also heading two ongoing projects, Identifica-

tion of Non-syndromic Hearing Loss Genes

(2005-2016), funded by National Institutes of

Health (NIH) Maryland-Bethesda USA and

Identification of Genes Involved in Human Skin

Disorders Funded by HEC.

He is also actively engaged in teaching to

M.Sc., M. Phil., and Ph.D. levels. His main

interests in teaching are Nucleic Acids, Protein

Chemistry and Molecular Biology of Gene Ex-

pression and Structure.

He has supervised 25 PhD students and 103

M.Phil. students so far. To his credit there are

over 158 publications in reputed National/

International Journals.

Prof. Dr. Wasim Ahmad is a Fellow of Pakistan

Academy of Science since 2010 and a Member

of American Society of Human Genetics, USA

since 2009. He has been an editor and reviewer

of international journals.

He has been an Associate Editor of BMC

Medical Genetics London-UK, and reviewing

papers published in the following international

journals: American Journal of Human Genetics

USA, American Journal of Medical Genetics-

USA, Pediatric Dermatology-USA, Human

Genetics-Germany, Journal of Medical Genetics

-UK, British Journal of Dermatology-UK, Mo-

lecular Vision UK, Clinical and Experimental

Dermatology-UK, European Journal of Derma-

tology-UK, BMC Medical Genetics-UK, Mo-

lecular Biology Reporter Australia, Archives of

Dermatological Research-Germany, Journal of

Dermatological Science-Japan, Journal of the

European Academy of Dermatology and

Venereology France.

He is a recipient of many national and interna-

tional awards. He won “Overseas Research

Students (ORS) Award” in 1986. He was also

awarded Dermatology Foundation Award

(Dermik Laboratories Research Grant New

York, USA) in 1999. The Government of Paki-

stan awarded him Sitara-e-Imtiaz in recognition

of his services in 2001. He is an HEC National

Distinguished Professor since 2005 and won

HEC Best Teacher award in 2010. He has also

won a Gold Medal from Pakistan Academy of

Sciences in 2007.

Prof. Dr. Wasim Ahmad is an amazing teacher,

and has been a source of motivation and inspira-

tion for his students. He is a very knowledge-

able person with a passion for both teaching and

research. He is a great asset in the field of Bio-

logical Sciences in Pakistan.

Biography of Dr. Wasim Ahmad

Prof. Dr. Wasim Ahmad

Aliya Farooq NAYS Publication team

Biography of eminent Scientist


Syyada Samra Jafri Project Coordinator, NAYS Naey Charagh

Naey Charagh

Naey Charagh — Dr. Hidayat Hussain

In the world of science and technology, Paki-

stani Scientists are playing a prominent role.

One such Pakistani eminent scientist, Dr. Hi-

dayat Hussain, was born in a small village of

Parachinar, Pakistan and where he also received

his basic education. He received his B.Sc. de-

gree from Postgraduate College Parachinar and

his M.Sc. degree from Gomal University Dera

Ismail Khan, Pakistan. He received his Ph.D

degree in 2004 under the supervision of Prof.

Dr. Viqar Uddin Ahmad at H.E.J. Research

Institute of Chemistry, International Center for

Chemical Sciences, University of Karachi,

Pakistan with a thesis on phytochemical investi-

gation of terrestrial plants of Pakistan and syn-

thesis of organotin complexes.

From June 2004 to September 2007 he was a

postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pader-

born, Germany, under the supervision of Prof.

Karsten Krohn. During this postdoctoral study

he has worked on Natural Product Chemistry

(Isolation and characterization of bioactive

natural products from plants and from Endo-

phytic fungi) and Synthetic Chemistry

(Synthesis of orthoquinones, phenazines, hy-

droxy napthoquinone derivatives, and quinoline

-5,8 dione derivatives as potential anti malarial

drugs; synthesis of phmosine derivatives). He

isolated more than hundred natural products

from natural sources and showed anticancer,

antimalarial, and antimicrobial activities. On the

other hand some of his synthesized compounds

showed very strong antimalarial activity against

Chloroquine resistant strain Plasmodium falci-

parum. In October 2007 he moved to the Uni-

versity of Maine France under Region Pays de

la Loire postdoctoral scholarship for one year

and worked on topic “Asymmetric Robinson

annulation via [4+2] heterocycloaddition and

design and synthesis of Tin catalyst for [4+2]

heterocycloadditions in the group of Dr. Gilles

Dujardin, Laboratory of Organic Synthesis. In

December 2008, he rejoined the group of Prof.

Karsten Krohn University of Paderborn Ger-

many as senior research scientist (group leader),

working until October 2010.

His "road of life" has been interesting, challeng-

ing and always rewarding. The steps along the

way that have led to this point in his life are, in

some ways, very different than he had imag-

ined; however, he likes who he is today in part

because of his parents and elder brother who

encouraged him to do more what he thought to

do. All he had was a big dream of his mother,

Mir Janana, late father, Habib Ullah Khan and

elder brother Muhammad Hayat Khan and it

was their dream which came true when Dr.

Hidayat obtain Ph. D degree in Organic Chem-

istry.

Currently, he is working at the Department of

Biological Sciences and Chemistry, University

of Nizwa, Oman. His research goals are to util-

ize principles, tools, methodologies and diverse

wealth of medicinal chemistry, natural product

chemistry and organic synthesis in order to

contribute to the understanding and solving the

biological problems together with global com-

munity of scientists. His research interests in-

clude design and synthesis of anticancer, anti-

malarial, anti-diabetic, and antimicrobial com-

pounds, asymmetric catalysis of [4 + 2] hetero-

cycloadditions, total synthesis of anthrapyran

antibiotics, and biodiversity and characteriza-

tion of natural products produced by endophytic

microorganisms and plants.

To date he has authored and co-authored over

140 scientific publications in reputed interna-

tionally peer reviewed research journals cumu-

lative impact factor of over 275 along with over

850 citations. He is given 15 podium lectures at

International Conferences and also he is a refe-

ree for more than 15 international journals. He

was listed in prestigious Marquis Who’s Who in

Science and Engineering and Marquis Who’s

Who in the World and is included in these print

directories on the basis of the reference values

of his achievements and research contributions.

He was also nominated for 2000 outstanding

scientist 2008/2009 by International Biographic

Center Cambridge England.

Despite the fact that talented people need direc-

tion and training, however, self-motivation,

strong determination and patience can get most

of the job done.

Quick Facts

Name: Dr. Hidayat Hussain

Birth Date: 27th July 1974

Education:

PhD Organic Chemistry

Current Position:

Visiting Scientist (Visiting Fac-

ulty), Department of Biological

Sciences and Chemistry, Uni-

versity of Nizwa, Nizwa, Sul-

tanate of Oman

Research Achievements:

To date he has authored and co-

authored over 140 scientific

publications in reputed interna-

tionally peer reviewed research

journals cumulative impact fac-

tor of over 275 along with over

850 citations.

NAYS is the torch-bearer in mobilizing young scientists; researchers, professionals and schol-

ars on a platform by providing them an enabling environment to collabo-

rate and exchange their fruitful innovative ideas and information in mul-

tidisciplinary science domains. These Scientists are supported by an ad-

visory council that includes crew of highly qualified professors for their

guidance. It is helpful for young researchers for their advancement, to

enrich their knowledge and to prove their flair in research oriented sub-

jects. Moreover, NAYS firmly believes that engaging young scientists (and utilizing their capa-

bilities by better orientation, improvisation and execution would definitely bring a remarkable

boom of science and technology in Pakistan.


NAYS E-Magazine Issue 3 (February - April 2013)

Documents

Transcript of NAYS E-Magazine Issue 3 (February - April 2013)