Aim and Scope

The objective of the current study is to optimize cooking power and effective efficiency of box type solar cooker. The solar cooker has been designed, fabricated and analyzed. The effect of loading and cooking time on the cooking power and effective efficiency has been investigated. The response surface methodology (RSM) is used to examine the performance of box-type solar cooker. FCCD (Face centered composite design) has been used to investigate the effect of different variables on effective efficiency and cooking power of the solar cooker. The optimized value of loading predicted by RSM was 4.92 kg/m2 for a cooking power of 795.89 watt and effective efficiency of 13.61% respectively. The results of predicted response were compared with actual response. The results demonstrate that the response surface methodology (RSM) is useful in constructing a mathematical model. The experiment was conducted in Faisalabad, Pakistan 31.4181° North Latitude, 73.0776° East Longitude and 184 m above the sea level. Keywords: Response surface methodology; Loading; cooking power; solar cooker; effective efficiency

The study was carried out to estimate trace elements (i.e. Fe, Cu and Zn) in blood of unmarried, pregnant and lactating females of district Sargodha and its tehsil Kot Momin. Total 1000 healthy women (age between 20-35 years) were interviewed from rural and urban areas and out of them, 150 females were randomly selected and divided into three groups (unmarried, lactating and pregnant) for clinical examination of Fe, Zn and Cu levels. The selected women were clinically tested and their data was collected and statistically analyzed. Results showed significant differences among three categories of females and females from different areas. Results show that iron concentration in serum decreases as pregnancy progress, especially in 3rd trimester. Copper level in the serum of pregnant females was also significantly higher as compared to lactating and unmarried females. Zinc levels in the serum of pregnant females were higher for both areas as well. Furthermore, trace elements concentrations in the serum of females of urban areas were significantly higher as compared to rural area. Also, zinc and copper level decreased as lactation period progress while iron fairly remains unchanged. Selected parameters such as age group, occupation, smoking, diabetes, blood pressure, menstrual cycle and blood groups were also observed in all groups and wide variation was found among them. In conclusion, females have to follow healthy lifestyle, take diet rich in these trace elements which can aid in maintaining adequate and balanced amount of iron, zinc and copper, to overcome the adverse effects of their deficiency.