Frequency of Conjunctivitis among Farmers of District Vehari, Punjab, Pakistan Conjuntivitis among farmers of Vehari

Conjunctivitis is a globally prevalent ocular and/eye infection. The basic motivation of the current study may be traced back to the association of conjunctivitis with unhygienic situations and sunlight exposure. The daily routine of farmers, overwhelming poverty, and illiteracy ratio may have further enhanced the incidence ratio of conjunctivitis. The ocular infection and/or conjunctivitis is caused by various pathogens, if not managed properly and appropriately may lead to corneal perforation or blindness. Objective: The study has been designed to find out the prevalence of various pathogenic and allergic conjunctivitis among farmers in the district Vehari, Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: It was a community-based and cross-sectional descriptive studyfrom October- November 2019. The study involved the quantitative analytical method. Anterior segments of eyes followed by posterior segments were examined by using an ophthalmoscope and torchlight for the diagnosisof conjunctivitis. Data on pathogenic and allergic conjunctiva was collected. Result: Our study indicated that 33(16.5%) farmers were found with the symptoms ascertained with conjunctivitis. Among the studied subjects, 29(14.5%) and 4(2%) farmers were found with bacterial and viral conjunctivitis, respectively. As far as the tendency of seeking medical help and ophthalmic consultation is concerned, 31(15.5%) and 19(9.5%) patients preferred to get examined by an eye specialist and traditional treatment, respectively. However, 150(75%) patients neglected to seek any medical aid. It was found 27 (13.5%), and 55 (27.5%) farmers were using glasses and traditional eye protective measures, respectively. However, almost sixty percent 118(59%) of farmers were not using any type of eye-protective measures. It was found that 59%, 30%, and 11% farmer population was exposed to sunlight for almost six, four, and two hours, respectively on daily basis. Conclusions: The use of prevalent traditional protective measures and lack of treatment or medical aid seeking trendby farmers has been found responsible for the high incidence of bacterial conjunctivitis. Moreover, long working hours and sunlight exposure alongwith the predominant unhygienic conditions may further quadruple the frequency of viral and bacterial conjunctivitis. The high prevalence ratio of conjunctivitis, eye infections, and ocular injuries highlight the need of observing universal eye safety and precautionary measures. Keeping in view the downtrodden economic conditions of the farmers and agriculturalists in the country and the financial repercussions associated with the infection, a state-ownedmedical awareness and relief process must be ensured and encouraged for the Pakistani community.

Nonlinear Electromagnetic Waves in Dense Plasmas

The formation and propagation of electromagnetic waves, specifically the magnetoacoustic waves are studied in this thesis for dense electron-ion magnetoplasmas. The linear and nonlinear waves such as shocks and solitons for small but finite amplitude perturbations are described for various plasma models by taking into account the quantum magnetohydrodynamic model. Further, the possible magnetoacoustic solitary wave interactions, i.e., overtaking and head-on interactions are discussed. The results are numerically analyzed by choosing the plasma parameters consistent with compact astrophysical systems. The properties of nonlinear fast magnetoacoustic waves in dense dissipative magnetoplasmas with degenerate electrons are studied theoretically. For this purpose, the quantum magnetohydrodynamic equations and the reductive perturbation technique are employed to derive the Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya- Kuznetsov (KZK) equation. The assumptions to obtain KZK equation in plasma system and the limiting cases have been identified clearly. Shock solutions of KZK equation are obtained by employing a method based upon Hirota and Clarkson-Kruskal approach. The magnetoacoustic shock waves have been examined numerically to ascertain how the plasma parameters such as ion kinematic viscosity, number density and magnetic field alter the characteristics and dynamics of shock waves. The propagation characteristics of magnetoacoustic shock waves are further investigated in a dense magnetoplasma with spin-1/2 electrons and geometrical effects by deriving the planar Korteweg-de Vries Burgers (KdVB) and cylindrical KdVB equations. Numerically, cylindrical KdVB equation is analyzed and it is observed that the number density, magnetic field and ion kinematic viscosity are the parameters that bring about significant modifications in the structure and propagation of magnetoacoustic shock waves. The spin effects are found to mitigate the phase speed of magnetoacoustic waves and the amplitude of shock structures in a dense magnetoplasma. The amplitude of the shock wave is observed to be greater for the case of cylindrical geometry and is found to propagate faster than that of planar shock waves. Furthermore, the numerical results are compared with the approximate analytical solution to show an excellent agreement of the results in the limit of earlier times. Overtaking interaction of fast magnetoacoustic solitons in dense magnetoplasmas is investigated. In this regard, one dimensional propagation of magnetoacoustic solitary waves in electron-ion plasmas with degenerate electrons is considered by deriving the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation. Numerically, the characteristics of solitary waves are studied by varying the plasma parameters i.e., number density and magnetic field. Hirota bilinear formalism is applied to get the multi-soliton solutions and overtaking interaction of fast magnetoacoustic solitons is explored by utilizing them. It is observed that the values of the propagation vectors determine the interaction of solitary waves. The taller soliton being faster, overtakes the shorter soliton such that the amplitude of the respective solitary waves remain unchanged after the interaction, however they do experience a phase shift. Further, the head-on interaction of two magnetoacoustic solitons is studied in a dense magnetoplasma with spin-1/2 electrons and geometrical effects. The extended Poincaré- Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) technique and quantum magnetohydrodynamic equations are utilized to derive a pair of nonplanar Korteweg-de Vries equations. The PLK method is an analytical approach, which explicitly provides the relations of post collision trajectories and the phase shifts encountered by the magnetoacoustic solitons after interaction. The head-on interaction of two concentric ring solitons is numerically analysed. It is observed that the spin-1/2 effects, statistical pressure, displacement current and geometry of the system significantly modify the phase shifts encountered by the solitons. It is noticed that the increasing the number density decreases the phase shift of the colliding solitons. Furthermore, the cylindrical geometry is observed to decrease the phase shift by comparison with the planar geometry. The investigations carried out in this thesis shall hopefully equip us to comprehend the formation, propagation and interaction of magnetoacoustic solitons in dense magnetoplasmas which exist in compact astrophysical objects like white dwarfs and neutron stars.