Abbottabad University of Science and Technology

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices continues to expand the network attack surface while introducing stringent privacy requirements that challenge effective intrusion detection. Federated learning enables collaborative model training without centralizing raw network telemetry. However, existing federated intrusion detection approaches often degrade under statistical heterogeneity and remain vulnerable to zero-day attacks when they rely on labeled data or reconstruction-based objectives. This work proposes Fed-DTCN (Federated Dual Temporal Contrastive Network), an unsupervised federated framework for zero-day anomaly detection in IoT environments. Fed-DTCN learns robust representations of benign IoT traffic using contrastive learning with semantic-preserving augmentations. A dual-encoder architecture disentangles globally shared features from client-specific patterns, improving generalization under heterogeneous federated deployments. Personalization and privacy are preserved by selectively aggregating only the shared encoder parameters. The framework employs a compact temporal convolutional backbone together with a soft-weighted contrastive objective to constrain benign representations, thereby enabling reliable detection of out-of-distribution threats. Extensive experiments on the TON_IoT and CSE-CIC-IDS2018 benchmarks show that Fed-DTCN matches or surpasses a state-of-the-art supervised baseline on standard attacks, achieving an F1-score of 99.99% on TON_IoT. In a zero-day evaluation where the Botnet class is withheld during training, Fed-DTCN attains an F1-score of 96%, compared to 0.52% for the supervised baseline. Ablation studies validate the effectiveness of the proposed augmentations, while evaluations under heterogeneous client partitions demonstrate reduced inter-client variance and consistent per-client improvements, indicating suitability for realistic IoT deployments.

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether technology‐driven channels contribute to poverty (Pov) reduction in Asia. Specifically, it examines the effects of technology spillovers through Greenfield foreign direct investment (Gfi), technological innovation (Tec), and digitalization (Dig) on Pov levels in 32 Asian countries over the period 2001–2023. Using balanced panel data from international sources, the study applies Random Effects (RE) and System Generalized Method of Moments (Sys‐GMM) estimators to control for country‐specific heterogeneity and potential endogeneity. The empirical findings reveal that Gfi, Tec, and Dig significantly reduce Pov, while unemployment exerts an adverse effect. The results suggest that technology‐related spillovers alleviate Pov primarily by enhancing productivity, efficiency, and labor market opportunities. This study contributes to the literature by providing new regional evidence on the poverty‐reducing role of technology spillovers and digitalization in Asia, offering policy‐relevant insights aligned with the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 1 (No Poverty).

Diabetes mellitus and gastrointestinal infections remain major global health concerns, contributing to high morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. To address these challenges, a series of oxadiazole-bearing imine scaffolds were designed and synthesized as dual α-glucosidase and urease inhibitors. Among them, compound 5 (IC50 = 5.30 ± 0.20 μM for α-glucosidase; 8.60 ± 0.30 μM for urease) and compound 6 (IC50 = 3.80 ± 0.60 μM; 5.20 ± 0.40 μM) exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity. The invitro potential of these compounds was compared with the standard compounds urease (IC50 = 12.20 ± 0.21 μM) and acarbose (IC50 = 10.30 ± 1.10 μM). All compounds were synthesized and characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HREI-MS. In silico studies, including molecular docking, revealed strong binding interactions between the active molecules and target enzymes. Density Functional Theory (DFT) analysis provided insights into electronic characteristics such as HOMO-LUMO energy gaps and reactive molecular regions, while ADMET profiling confirmed favorable drug-likeness. Pharmacophore modeling of compound 6 highlighted critical hydrogen-bonding interactions, and molecular dynamics simulations further validated the stability and affinity of the protein-ligand complexes. Collectively, these findings suggest that the synthesized oxadiazole derivatives are promising dual inhibitors with potential therapeutic relevance in diabetes and gastrointestinal infections.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a 70-day Speed, Agility and Quickness (SAQ) training programme on swimming performance for pre-adolescent male swimmers associated with a swimming club in Beijing, China. Twenty male swimmers, consisting of 10 male swimmers aged under 10 years and 10 male swimmers aged under 12 years, participated in the study. Using a one-group, repeated measures design, all swimmers incorporated SAQ training into their regular swim training schedule, participating in five SAQ training sessions per each 10-day period throughout the 70-day intervention period. Each SAQ training session lasted between 20 and 25 minutes, and performance was measured by a 100-metre sprint time, collected at each 10-day interval from baseline (day 1) to completion of the study (day 70). Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated a statistically significant overall improvement in swim times during the study (F = 155.689, p < 0.001, partial η² = .876) with no difference between baseline (day 1) and follow-up (day 10) (p = 1.000), while statistically significant improvements were shown by day 20 (mean difference [MD] = .401, p = .007) and continued to day 70 with the largest improvements recorded (MD = 2.531, p < 0.001) across all 4 data collection points in both age groups. The results of this study indicate that a structured (scientifically based) 70-day (approximately 2.5-month) SAQ programme significantly enhances 100-metre sprint performance in pre-adolescent swimmers. The results of this investigation suggest that the use of SAQ strength training methods leads to improved muscular coordination (more cohesive and quicker). Therefore, the establishment of strength through the use of modalities such as SAQ at an early age will produce successful athletes. Coaches should consider combining aquatic and non-aquatic strength training with swimming training in order to facilitate performance gains at an accelerated rate, and to produce faster performance gains with earlier initiation of such training than later initiation.

Dr. Tahirul Qadri, a well-known Islamic scholar, created the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) in 1989.The Bravelvi school of thought, which is the predominant sect in Pakistan, is deeply ingrained in the party's membership. The party's founder and chairman publicly identifies as a devout Bravelvi.The Bravelvi school of thought was represented by the pre-existing religious political parties, which greatly despised the creation of PAT.It was said that Dr. Qadri intended to split the Bravelvies and that the new party would make them less powerful politically. For various reasons, PAT was also rejected by the other religious political parties.The PAT gained notoriety in 2012 when its employees convened for a dharna in Islamabad. Pat’s motto was Siaysat nahe Riasat Bachao, which means "save the country and not the politics."A new political structure was required by the party.The PPP government was worried by the PAT's use of the capital system.Once more, the party organized its workers nationwide and staged a large sit-in in Islamabad. The Nawaz Shareef government was shaken by the several-day-long dharna.Pakistan Awami Tehreek stands out in Pakistani and comparative politics as a reform-oriented, religiously driven movement that has faced structural electoral challenges but has significantly influenced public discourse through grassroots organizing and normative critiques of the political system. Examining PAT provides valuable insights about the relationship between democratic agency, protest, and religion in a dynamic and divisive political landscape.In Pakistan's political academia, the influence of non-mainstream political actors on political discourse has not gotten much empirical attention. Despite having a small electoral representation, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) has managed to stay visible through religious identity, protest politics, and leadership-driven mobilization. There is a void in the systematic, theory-driven investigation of these movements' political influence because the majority of existing research look at them descriptively. In order to close this gap, the current study explores the role of Pakistan Awami Tehreek in Pakistani politics by looking at how street mobilization, protest politics, charismatic leadership, and religious ideology based on Barelvi identity affect the organization's total political influence.The empirical findings show that the political influence of PAT is positively and statistically significantly correlated with all three independent variables (p < 0.05). The strongest predictors were found to be charismatic authority and leadership, followed by street mobilization and protest politics. Religious ideology also had a significant impact. These results demonstrate that non-electoral procedures, not parliamentary participation, are the main drivers of PAT's political relevance. By providing an empirical, variable-based explanation of non-electoral political impact in a hybrid democratic setting, this work adds to the body of literature. By identifying other avenues for political engagement, promoting evidence-based decision-making, and expanding knowledge of religiously informed political movements in Pakistan, the findings have significant ramifications for academics, decision-makers, and civil society.