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Environmental pollutants have become a dreadful problem and burning issues for the present world irrespective of a country who is responsible for it. The objective of the study is to investigate impact of financial development and institutional quality on environmental degradation. The study is based on panel data for developing and developed countries over the time of 1996-2016. For the empirical analysis fixed effect and the random effect is carried out. Results show that institutional quality, economic growth, foreign direct investment, gross primary enrolment, and industrial growth have significant positive effect on corban emissions whereas financial development, population growth, trade openness, urban population and R&D expenditures have significant negative effect on corban emissions. One percent point increase in the index of institutional quality leads towards 0.006 percent points increase in the level of CO2 emissions. One percent point increase in the economic growth lead to increase the CO2 emissions by 0.39 percent points. One percent point increase in inflows of foreign direct investment increase the level of CO2 emissions by 0.016 percent points. One percent point increase in industrial growth leads to a 0.38 percent points increase in the level of CO2 emissions. Furthermore, one percent point increase in the index of financial development leads to 0.05 percent points decrease in the level of CO2 emissions. One percent point increase in urban population leads to almost 0.05 percent points fall in the level of CO2 emissions. Finally, one percent point rise in R&D expenditures leads to decrease in the level of CO2 emissions by 0.068 percent points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climbing Perch or its scientific name, Anabas testudineus is one of the freshwater fish belonging to the family of Anabantidae. It is widely distributed in ponds, swamps and estuaries in Asia. In this study, cholinesterase (ChE) was partially purified from the liver of A. testudineus through ion exchange chromatography. This purification method provided a recovery yield of 5.36% with a purification fold of 6.6. The optimum conditions for ChE assay were identified to be 2.5 mM of butyrylthiocholine iodide (BTC) with pH 8.0 in Tris-HCl buffer at 40°C. Substrate specificity profile also indicated that ChE favours BTC as substrate because it records the Bioindicator Cholinesterase (ChE) highest catalytic efficiency (Vmax/Km). Protein analysis through Native-PAGE showed that ion Inhibition Metal ions exchange chromatography is an effective method to partially purify ChE. Metal ion inhibition tests were conducted and mercury (Hg) was found to show the highest inhibition effect (87.30%) whereas lead (Pb) shows the lowest inhibition effect (28.01%). All these findings showed that partially purified ChE from the liver of A. testudineus is suitable to be used as a bioindicator to detect the presence of metal ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyse the portrayal of Malala Yousafzai after her attempt of assassination by Taliban in the editorials of four Pakistani English newspapers, The News, Dawn, The Nation and Daily Times from October 10, 2012 to November 10, 2012. It also investigates how newspapers framed Taliban after attacking Malala. The study is theoretically linked with framing theory and conducts the comparative analysis of the editorials of four Pakistani leading newspapers. A total of 29 editorials (five in The News, six in Dawn, nine in Daily Times and nine in The Nation) were analysed. The findings depict that Malala was portrayed as a courageous girl who opposed the Taliban and their mindset against the girl's education in Swat valley. The findings also show that Taliban have a negative image in the Pakistani newspapers after their attack on Malala Yousafzai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence and role of political talk shows in generating political awareness amongst Pakistani educated youth. The researcher aims at measuring the youth's level of political awareness and involvement, and the extent to which these educated youth are persuaded by political talk shows about political affairs. The respondents involved in this study consist of the students of Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan. The researcher selected 200 respondents from all departments of Government College University Faisalabad. The researcher applied non-probability sampling technique for data collection. Questionnaires were used as a tool for data collection. Findings showed that political talk shows influenced the youth and played a key role in providing political awareness. These findings also revealed that political talk shows have great deal of impacts on youngsters in helping them to get the knowledge about their basic social and political rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst escalating environmental challenges, the imperative for sustainable development and environmental preservation has become central in contemporary discourse. Where the consumption of fossil fuels poses a significant threat to the global sustainability, the global shift towards renewable energy sources is recognized as a key strategy for nations to confront climate change, enhance economic prosperity, and contribute to global sustainability by promoting green economic growth. In this context, our study makes a momentous contribution to the existing disclosure by investigating the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on the green economic growth of, not only in the implementing country, but also on the surrounding economies across the South Asian Region. To achieve this objective, the study collected the data from the member states of the South Asian Region for the period of 2000-2020. We took the support from Spatial Durbin Model to empirically estimate the results. Our findings reveal that fossil fuels not only harm the green economic growth of the home country but also exhibit a negative spatial spillover effect, adversely affecting the sustainability efforts of the surrounding economies. In contrast, renewable energy not only benefits the home country but also has a positive spatial spillover effect, promoting sustainability in nearby economies. The results highlight the critical need for cooperative regional initiatives and the interdependence of environmental policies. The study's conclusions, aligned with international agreements such as COP28 and Sustainable Development Goals, provide essential guidance for policymakers addressing the challenges of sustainable growth., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Aluminum alloy AA7075 workpiece material is observed under dry finishing turning operation. This work is an investigation reporting promising potential of deep adaptive learning enhanced artificial intelligence process models for L 18 (6 1 3 3 ) Taguchi orthogonal array experiments and major cost saving potential in machining process optimization. Six different tool inserts are used as categorical parameter along with three continuous operational parameters i.e., depth of cut, feed rate and cutting speed to study the effect of these parameters on workpiece surface roughness and tool life. The data obtained from special L 18 (6 1 3 3 ) orthogonal array experimental design in dry finishing turning process is used to train AI models. Multi-layer perceptron based artificial neural networks (MLP-ANNs), support vector machines (SVMs) and decision trees are compared for better understanding ability of low resolution experimental design. The AI models can be used with low resolution experimental design to obtain causal relationships between input and output variables. The best performing operational input ranges are identified for output parameters. AI-response surfaces indicate different tool life behavior for alloy based coated tool inserts and non-alloy based coated tool inserts. The AI-Taguchi hybrid modelling and optimization technique helped in achieving 26% of experimental savings (obtaining causal relation with 26% less number of experiments) compared to conventional Taguchi design combined with two screened factors three levels full factorial experimentation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Standardization of surgical protocols is an evolving issue owing to the low incidence of rare craniofacial clefts. In this article, we present our surgical management technique for repair of rare craniofacial clefts and evaluate the postoperative results., Methods: This study was conducted from 2013 to 2022 and included patients who presented with craniofacial clefts. The results were assessed based on parents' satisfaction and objective evaluations by two independent observers., Results: A total of 3679 patients presented with cleft anomalies; of these, 61 patients with 89 rare craniofacial clefts were observed with a prevalence of 2.42/100. The male to female ratio was 1:1.35. Craniofacial cleft "4" and "5" were the most common, with 17 (19.1%) and 16 (17.98%) patients, respectively. Multiple craniofacial clefts were observed in 37.7% of the patients. Associated craniofacial anomalies were found in 39.34% of the patients. The parents of 71.6% of the patients were very satisfied with the results. Based on the scores of two independent observers, 70.27% of the patients showed good results., Conclusion: The rare nature of craniofacial clefts and involvement of various structures make the standardization of surgical procedures very challenging. Our experience with these clefts will help new surgeons both in didactics and in technical aspects of patient management., Key Points: 1. We share our experience with rare craniofacial clefts. 2. Each cleft presents with its own unique reconstructive challenges. The literature describes many techniques for each type of cleft, all with multiple permutations. We present a simplified technique that has worked for us over the years for all Tessier clefts., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2024 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pakistan has a conducive condition for the development of a wide range of scrumptious fruits. As a result, the country grows a diverse assortment of tropical and subtropical fruits; the most prized and top-ranked fruit among all fruits grown in Pakistan is citrus. Citrus is the principal fruit that contributes significantly to Pakistan's export earnings and national income. In this study, the cross-border determinants influencing Pakistan's citrus exports to its topmost 22 trading partners are examined using a gravity model technique. This is the first large study from Pakistan by using gravity model to check the impact of various cross-border factors on citrus fruit export. The analysis is based on a panel dataset covering the years 2003 to 2021. To estimate the results, the study used fixed effect regression with time and country fixed effects. The results signify that per capita income, population, and some regional dummies are positively associated with citrus exports from Pakistan. Citrus price, distance, exchange rate, and other regional dummies are observed to have an adverse effect on citrus exports. Trade agreements between Pakistan and trade partners such as free trade agreements, preferential trade agreements, and SAFTA, have been observed as important determinants of citrus exports. Citrus exporters in Pakistan can also benefit from understanding the factors that influence export markets. By addressing the challenges identified in this study, Pakistan can enhance its citrus exports and boost its agricultural sector., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Hayat, Naeem, Mustafa, Alhafi Alotaibi, Traore and Anwar.)

Technology plays a substantial role in our daily lives, and the spread of COVID-19 paves the way for the use of healthcare technologies to manage health in the comfort of our homes. Middle-aged and older adults face health issues and require instant healthcare advice and support. Electronic healthcare (EH) applications have emerged to facilitate middle-aged and older adults receiving healthcare support instantly while remaining in their homes. The present study empirically evaluates the intention and adoption of electronic health applications with the technological attributes of perceived compatibility, cost, product value, technology accuracy, privacy issues and health motivation among middle-aged and older adults from Malaysia. Moreover, this research examines the mediating effect of the intention to adopt EH applications between technology attributes and the adoption of EH applications. This study uses a cross-sectional method and employs an online survey to assemble quantitative data from 298 middle-aged and older Malaysian adults. It utilizes partial least squares structural equation modelling for data analysis. The data analysis reveals that perceived compatibility, cost, privacy, product value and health motivation significantly influenced the intention to use EH apps. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the intention to adopt EH apps significantly mediates the relationship between the perception of cost, personal privacy, product value, health motivation and adoption of EH apps. However, the intention to use EH apps insignificantly instigates their adoption. Finally, the study presents its implications, limitations and future research directions., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

The millions-worth revenue derived from large-scale food delivery characterises the service as a relatively established phenomenon with potential growth. The current cross-sectional research examined online food delivery service quality on consumer satisfaction and reuse intention. Service quality was divided into seven categories (i.e., reliability, assurance, security, maintaining food quality, system operation, traceability, and perceived service value). Perceived service value offer the unique understanding of the online food delivery consumer satisfaction. Empirical data were elicited from 1352 valid respondents and subsequently assessed through the partial least square structural equation modelling. Findings revealed that reliability, assurance, maintaining food quality, system operation, traceability, and perceived service value could elevate customer satisfaction and optimize the intention to reuse food delivery services. Specific measures to improve service quality, including staff training, improved after-sales service, and system optimisation, were proposed to increase users' satisfaction and intention to reuse optimally., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Wu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The data on the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in spondyloarthropathy (SpA) patients are sparse, especially regarding its association with the novel mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and immunosuppressants. We aimed to evaluate whether SpA diagnosis and/or immunosuppressant use affect HZ risk and the influence of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. We assessed the association between SpA (psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS)) diagnoses and HZ in a large population database with patients matched by age and sex to controls. We also assessed the association between the COVID-19 vaccine and new-onset HZ using two nested case-control studies, identifying all new HZ cases diagnosed from 1 January-31 December 2021 within the SpA and general population cohorts, matched randomly by sex, age and HZ index date to controls without HZ. Exposure to mRNA COVID-19 vaccination was ascertained in the 6 weeks prior to the index date both in cases and controls. In our results, the incidence rate of HZ was higher in PsA patients vs. the general population, at 1.03 vs. 0.64 per 100 person-years, respectively (adjusted HR = 1.55; 95%CI, 1.19-2.02). Within the SpA group, Jak-I treatment was associated with a higher risk of developing new-onset HZ (adjusted OR = 3.79; 1.15-12.5). Multivariable conditional logistic regression models we used showed no association between COVID-19 vaccination and new-onset HZ among the SpA patients (OR = 1.46; 0.68-3.14).

The rising demand for plant-based meat (PBM) has the potential to minimize environmental degradation and save the lives of numerous animals. Furthermore, the intention to consume eco-friendly products triggers people to consume PBM. However, it is essential to understand the factors that influence consumer intentions and actual PBM consumption to enhance its adoption. By incorporating the Theory of Consumption Value, this study examines the impact of health consciousness, health motivation, personal innovativeness, perceived critical mass, perceived cost, and perceived product value on the intention to consume PBM. The impact of intention to consume PBM on actual consumption is also analyzed. Furthermore, the mediating role of the intention to consume PBM in the relationship between these factors and actual consumption behavior is investigated. Using a cross-sectional research design, 978 responses were obtained from Indonesia. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that health motivation, perceived critical mass perceived cost, and perceived product value were significant predictors of the intention to consume PBM. However, health motivation and personal innovation had insignificant effects on the intention to consume PBM. Moreover, the intention to consume PBM translated into actual consumption behavior. Furthermore, the intention to consume PBM significantly mediated the relationship between actual consumption behavior and factors other than health motivation, personal innovation, and perceived product value. The findings offer valuable insights for industry, policymakers, and producers interested in PBMA markets in developing focused marketing strategies, improving consumer perceptions, and addressing barriers, such as perceived costs to promote PBM consumption, particularly in emerging markets. Integrating the theory of consumption value and PLS-SEM provides a comprehensive understanding of the underlying dynamics and sheds light on the unique factors driving PBM consumption behavior., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Corresponding author is the associate editor of Heliyon (Business and Management)., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Urine culture is often considered the gold standard for detecting the presence of bacteria in the urine. Since culture is expensive and often requires 24-48 hours, clinicians often rely on urine dipstick test, which is considerably cheaper than culture and provides instant results. Despite its ease of use, urine dipstick test may lack sensitivity and specificity. In this paper, we use a real-world dataset consisting of 17,572 outpatient encounters who underwent urine cultures, collected between 2015 and 2021 at a large multi-specialty hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We develop and evaluate a simple parsimonious prediction model for positive urine cultures based on a minimal input set of ten features selected from the patient's presenting vital signs, history, and dipstick results. In a test set of 5,339 encounters, the parsimonious model achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.828 (95% CI: 0.810-0.844) for predicting a bacterial count ≥ 105 CFU/ml, outperforming a model that uses dipstick features only that achieves an AUROC of 0.786 (95% CI: 0.769-0.806). Our proposed model can be easily deployed at point-of-care, highlighting its value in improving the efficiency of clinical workflows, especially in low-resource settings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Ghosheh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The analysis of food consumption pattern is a primary concern of any developing country because it is related with food security. Pakistan is one of the emerging nations of the developing world. Due to the similarities and differences in households' food consumption behavior, income distribution, the effects of alternative tax structures, cost-benefit analyses, and the choice of cost of living index, the study of households' food consumption pattern is crucial for a developing nation like Pakistan. Furthermore, for Pakistan's food security in the present and the future, an analysis of food consumption pattern is crucial. The main objective of this study is to analyze the households' food consumption pattern. Linear Approximation Almost Ideal Demand System (LA/AIDS) is applied using data from Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) for the year 2018-19. This study makes a significant contribution by estimating household age composition elasticities, which were absent from earlier studies. Results from the income elasticities reveal that milk, meat, and fruits are luxuries food items. Similarly, on the basis of inelastic income elasticities we declared cereals, pulses, vegetables, sugar, and ghee as necessity food items. Results from the compensated own price elasticities show that the eight food commodity groups have inelastic own-price elasticities. This implies that these food commodities are integral food items of household diet. Results from the compensated cross-price elasticities shows that cereals and pulses, cereals and vegetables, pulses and vegetables, milk and fruits, meat and fruits, and milk and ghee are gross substitutes. On the other hand, pulses and meat, pulses and fruits, and ghee and meat are gross complements. According to the findings of the household age composition elasticities, adding children to a household significantly increases its sugar consumption while significantly reducing its fruit consumption. Any increase in the size of the household by an adolescent, adult, or a person in their middle age results in a significant increase in the consumption of cereals and a significant drop in the consumption of fruits. Finally, any increase in the size of the households brought about by an elder resulted in a significant rise in the consumption of cereals and a significant drop in the consumption of vegetables., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: The current study explores the formation of an intention to use wearable fitness devices (WFDs) with wearable fitness attributes and health consciousness (HCS). Moreover, the research examines the use of WFDs with the health motivation (HMT) and intention to use WFDs. The study also exposes the moderating effect of HMT between the intention to use WFDs and the use of WFDs., Methods: Five hundred and twenty-five adults participated in the current study, and data were collected from January 2021 to March 2021 through the online survey of Malaysian respondents. The cross-sectional data was analyzed using the second-generation statistical method of partial least square structural equation modeling., Results: HCS is insignificantly associated with the intention to use WFDs. Perceived compatibility, perceived product value, perceived usefulness, and perceived technology accuracy significantly influence the intention to use WFDs. HMT significantly impacts the adoption of WFDs; however, the intention to use WFDs negatively but significantly influences the use of WFDs. Lastly, the association between the intention to use WFDs and the adoption of WFDs is significantly moderated by HMT., Conclusions: Our study findings illuminate the significant impact of technology-level attributes of WFDs on the intention to use WFDs. However, an insignificant impact of HCS on the intention to use WFDs was reported. Our result confirms that HMT plays a significant role in the use of WFDs. Such as the moderating role of HMT is vital to transform the intention to use WFDs into the adoption of WFDs., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer. One major pathway involved in the development of CRC is the serrated pathway. Colorectal polyps can be divided in benign, like small hyperplastic polyps and premalignant polyps, like the sessile serrated adenomas (SSA) that has a significant potential of malignant transformation. The morphological similarity between these types of polyp, not-infrequently raises diagnostic difficulties. This study aimed to morphologically differentiate between hyperplastic polyps (HP) and SSAs by using automated computerized texture analysis of Fourier transformed histological images. Thirty images of HP and 58 images of SSA were analyzed by computerized texture analysis. A fast Fourier transformation was applied to the images. The Fourier frequency plots were further transformed into gray level co-occurrence matrices and four textural variables were extracted: entropy, correlation, contrast, and homogeneity. Our study is the first to combine this type of analysis for automated classification of colonic neoplasia. The results were analyzed using statistical and neural network (NNET) classification models. The predictive values of these classifiers were compared. The statistical regression algorithm presented a sensitivity of 95% to detect the SSA and a specificity of 80% to detect the HP. The NNET analysis was superior to the statistical analysis displaying a classification accuracy of 100%. The results of this study have confirmed the hypothesis that Fourier based texture image analysis is helpful in differentiating between HP and SSA. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Colorectal polyps can be divided in benign, like hyperplastic polyps (HP) and premalignant, like the sessile serrated adenomas (SSA). There is a high morphologic similarity between these two types of polyp that not-infrequently raises diagnostic difficulties. The results of our morphometric analysis that were used to build a neural network based model of prediction of the polyp types, have a great clinical importance of identifying SSA polyps which have significant potential of malignant progression as compared to HP., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: To estimate the effects and safety of suprachoroidal triamcinolone acetonide injections in treating patients with resistant diabetic macular oedema., Methods: The quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Isra Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Al-Ibrahim Eye Hospital, Karachi, from November 2019 to March 2020, and adult patients of either gender with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Central macular thickness, intraocular pressure and best corrected visual acuity were recorded at baseline, and the patients were followed up at one and three months after the suprachoroidal triamcinolone acetonide injection and post-intervention parameters were compared. Data was analysed using SPSS 20., Results: There were 60 patients with a mean age of 49.25±5.6 years. Of the 70 eyes, 38(54.30%) belonged to male subjects and 32(45.70%) to female subjects. There were significant differences in terms of central macular thickness and the best corrected visual acuity at both follow-ups compared to the baseline readings (p<0.05)., Conclusions: Suprachoroidal triamcinolone acetonide injection significantly reduced diabetic macular oedema.

The industrial sector of China is critical to the country's economic growth. On the other side, industrialisation has resulted in a high rate of emissions, pushing China to spend extensively on industrial pollution remediation. As a result, this study looks at the relationship between investment completed in the treatment of industrial pollution and economic development. Initially, the study used the global Moran's I test (Queen's contiguity matrix) to find spatial autocorrelation for the 'investment completed in the treatment of industrial pollution' factor, where the study found a positive association across Chinese provinces, and suggest the existence of spatial autocorrelation. Thereafter, a time-fixed effect spatial error model was used due to the lowest Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion to analyse regional data of China from 1999 to 2018. The data reveal a positive association between investment completed in the treatment of industrial pollution and regional economic growth, both in the short and long term. Furthermore, the negative consequences of urban wages and foreign investment on investment completed in the treatment of industrial pollution are having the reverse effect on regional green development, necessitating ecologically friendly actions to mitigate the negative environmental effects of both. The results highlight the need for policymakers in other countries to review their plans for economic expansion and create environmentally friendly legislation. By implementing the Chinese green economic growth model, policymakers in industrially polluting nations can reduce industrial pollution and foster green growth in their nation., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The world is witnessing an increasing number of senior adult residents who experience health issues. Healthcare innovation facilitates monitoring the health conditions of senior adults and reducing the burden on healthcare institutions. The study explored the effect of health improvement expectancy, effort expectancy, price value, perceived vulnerability, health consciousness, and perceived reliability on the intention and adoption of medical wearable devices (MWD) among senior adults in China. Furthermore, a cross-sectional design was adopted, while quantitative data was collected from 304 senior adults through an online survey. A hybrid approach of partial least square structural equational modeling and artificial neural network-based analysis technique was adopted. The findings demonstrated that health improvement expectancy, perceived vulnerability, price value, and perceived reliability significantly affected the intention to adopt MWDs. Moreover, the intention to adopt MWDs significantly positively affected the actual adoption of MWDs among senior adults. Although the moderating effect of the pre-existing conditions and income between the intention to use MWDs and actual adoption of MWDs was positive, it was not statistically significant. The artificial neural network analysis has proven that perceived reliability, price value, and vulnerability are the most critical factors contributing to the intention to use MWDs. The current study offered valuable insights into the factors affecting the intention and adoption of MWDs among senior adults. Following that, theoretical and practical contributions were documented to improve the ease of use and price value for the prospective users of MWDs. The correct healthcare policies could curtail the influx of senior adults into the hospital and empower these adults to track and manage their health issues at home., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Xinyan, Mamun, Ali, Siyu, Yang and Hayat.)

Innovative technologies are paving the way for the online purchase of products and services. The COVID-19 also harness online shopping and hotel booking in the post-COVID-19 era. Online hotel booking is becoming the norm among young consumers. The six determinants of the intention to use online hotel booking platforms (OHBPs) are information quality, integrity, perceived risks, perceived benefits, system quality, and service quality was utilized in the study. Cross-sectional data were collected through the online survey, and 884 valid responses were utilised for the data analysis. The analysis results showed that the perceived benefits, system quality, and service quality significantly predicted the intention to use the OHBPs. Meanwhile, the usefulness and quantity of online reviews and the intention to use OHBPs have a positive and significant effect on the usage of the OHBPs. The study results confirmed the insignificant moderating role of the usefulness and quantity of online hotel booking reviews in the relationship between the intention to use and the usage of OHBPs. The intention to use OHBPs had low predictive power, while the usage of OHBPs had high predictive power. This study's findings have offered valuable theoretical and managerial contributions. The management of OHBPs needs to concentrate on information quality and integrity to help manage the associated risks of online hotel booking. Previous customers' reviews are vital to encourage the usage of OHBPs. Finally, social media usage and promoting the OHBPs by sharing satisfied users' experiences improve the intention and usage of the OHBPs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

The persistent rise of pandemics across the globe in recent times has led to the prescription of several collaborative preventive strategies to reduce the effect that the pandemic has on public health. Consistent monitoring and surveillance appear to be the only available approach to detecting and classifying the issues of public health threats. Global pandemic threats demand public co-operation to take preventive actions at a personal level so that the risk of infectious diseases can be contained. Said that, this study explored the influence of awareness of precaution measures (APM), concerns about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (CAC), knowledge of COVID-19 (KOC), and perceived risk (PRK) on preventive behavior (PRB), as well as the effect of age and gender on the relationships among the studied variables. Quantitative data were collected from 551 university students across Malaysia and Vietnam through field survey and online survey, respectively. The data collection was performed from 13 March to 23 March 2020. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for data analysis. The multiple group analysis (MGA) technique was applied to compare the data retrieved from the respondents based on age and gender. The results revealed that APM, CAC, KOC, and PRK on PRB significantly influenced PRB toward COVID-19. In light of the two personal factors, age and gender, significant variances were noted for age and KOC, while PRK on PRB on the PRB toward COVID-19. Based on the study outcomes, APM emerged as the most significant predictor of PRB, followed by PRK on PRB, and CAC. Since a large fraction of the world reside in rural areas and have high-level interaction with animals, the provision of education at all level can harness the attitude to adopt PRB toward COVID-19. As such, policymakers need to work with the young generation so that the latter may serve as change agents to spread the message of taking precautions and adopting effective PRB toward COVID-19., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Al Mamun, Hayat, Dieu, Zainol and Salameh.)

Mobile commerce is a developing phenomenon, youth worldwide utilising the platform that provides flexibility, ease, and convenience of online shopping through mobile devices. The study investigates the influence of mobile commerce service quality dimensions on the perception of service quality and customer satisfaction. Satisfaction in Mobile commerce promotes the revisit intention among the customer. The study model was designed on the service quality model SERVQUAL, and the factors were adopted from the information and system quality dimensions. The hypotheses were tested with Jordanian adults, and data was collected through a survey from January 2020 to April 2020. The data was analysed using the variance-based statistical analysis tool with Smart Partial Least Squares 3.2. The non-compensatory analytical technique of artificial neural network analysis was employed to assess the study models. Resultantly, responsiveness and cognitive control factors were significantly related to the Mobile commerce overall service quality. The information quality dimension of content usefulness and adequacy was significantly related to the mobile commerce overall service quality. Mobile commerce system quality dimensions were significantly related to the overall service quality. Furthermore, overall service quality perception significantly influenced customer satisfaction, promoting the revisit intention towards mobile commerce. Multilayer artificial neural network analysis was applied. The result conclusively showed that website innovativeness, content usefulness, and ease of use were the three substantial mobile commerce platforms that impacted overall service quality. The e-business management should use state-of-the-art technology features to enhance the quality perception and develop payment security features to nurture trust among users. Future research opportunities and limitations were reported at the end., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

The smart wearable device is a new breed of mobile device that offers diversified utilities for health, sport, and finance for consumers worldwide. The current study aims to investigate the provocation of the intention to use smart wearable payment devices among Malaysian consumers. The unified theory of technology acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was employed with the cross-sectional survey-based data to explain the adoption of the smart wearable payment device. Furthermore, the UTAUT model was extended with trust and lifestyle compatibility factors to investigate smart wearable payment device adoption. The survey-based data were collected through the online survey and analyzed through the symmetrical modeling approach of partial least squares structural education modeling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate theoretical associations between the study constructs. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was employed as an asymmetrical approach. As a result, it was found that the ease of use, lifestyle compatibility, and trust significantly impacted the intention to adopt smart wearable payment devices. However, social influence and facilitating conditions did not support the intention of adopting smart wearable payment devices. Adopting these devices requires policy and infrastructure development to harness the adoption of smart wearable payment devices. This paper is concluded with study limitations and future research suggestions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Hayat, Al Mamun, Salameh, Ali, Hussain and Zainol.)

Wearable payment devices (WPD) are gaining acceptance fast and transforming everyday life and commercial operations in China. Limited research works were conducted on customers' adoption intentions to obtain a real image of the evolution of WPD in China. This study aims to investigate the effects of Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions (FC), Hedonic Motivation (HM), Perceived Trust (PT), and Lifestyle Compatibility (LC) on the intention to adopt WPD among Chinese consumers by expanding unified theory of acceptance and use of technology with two impelling determinants (i.e. PT and LC). Using an online survey, empirical data were collected from 298 respondents in China. In a two-stage data analysis, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) were employed to analyse the causal effects and associations between independent and dependent variables, whereas artificial neural networks (ANN) were used to evaluate the research model prediction capability. The (PLS-SEM) findings indicated that PE, SI, FC, HM, LC, and PT had substantial positive impacts on adoption intention, whilst EE had no impact on adoption intention among Chinese consumers. The ANN analysis proved the high prediction accuracy of data fitness, with ANN findings highlighting the importance of PT, FC, and PE on the intention to adopt WPD. It was suggested that the study findings assist WPD service providers and the smart wearable device industry practitioners in developing innovative products and implementing efficient marketing strategies to attract the existing and potential WPD users in China., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Mobile technology is popular because it facilitates users in multiple ways. This technology is revolutionising the healthcare industry, and mobile-based wearable medical devices (WMDs) are becoming common. Technology adoption is always challenging, and technology value is based on the technology attributes and personal inclination towards using the technology. This study investigates how the perceived product value is influenced by compatibility, cost, personal privacy, technology accuracy, and usefulness. The perceived product value instigates the intention to use wearable medical devices and health motivation (HMT), and the intention to use promotes the adoption of WMDs. Furthermore, the relationship between the intention to use and the adoption of WMDs is moderated by HMT. The current work employed a cross-sectional research design, and data were collected through an online survey of Malaysian adults. Data analysis was performed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The analysis revealed that the WMDs' compatibility, cost, and technology accuracy significantly influenced the WMDs' value. Besides, the perceived product value impacted the intention to use WMDs, while HMT and intention to use WMDs insignificantly influenced the adoption of WMDs. Finally, HMT significantly moderated the relationship between the intention to use and the adoption of WMDs. This study also reports the limitations and future research opportunities., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Hayat, Zainol, Salameh, Al Mamun, Yang and Md Salleh.)

Wearable fitness devices (WFDs) are prevalent personal technology that empowers the users' management and supervision of their personal health. The current study explored the impact of health consciousness, health motivation, perceived cost, compatibility, usefulness, and perceived technology accuracy with the intention to use the WFDs. Furthermore, the users' conspicuous consumption and intention promote the usage of WFDs. A cross-sectional and quantitative research design was utilized for the current study, followed by data collection through social media and a final analysis with 1,071 samples data. The data analysis was accomplished with the partial least square regression structural equation modeling. The findings of this study revealed that the users' level of health consciousness, perceived compatibility, usefulness, perceived cost, and technology accuracy significantly influenced the intention to use WFDs. However, the conspicuous consumption and intention indicated the support for the usage behavior of the WFDs. This behavior significantly moderated the relationship between the intention and usage behavior for the WFDs. This study contributed to the theoretical realm for prompting the intention to use the WFDs with personal protection motivation that depicts the coping strategy and technology level attributes that form the intention to use WFDs. The WFDs manufacturers should therefore focus on developing WFDs features that harness usage behavior among the adults. Developing the personal responsibility to reduce the burden of the healthcare system and taking care of personal health could promote the usage of the WFDs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Al Mamun, Hayat, Jingzu, Hoque and Salameh.)

The competition in higher education has increased, while lecturers are involved in multiple assignments that include teaching, research and publication, consultancy, and community services. The demanding nature of academia leads to excessive work load and stress among academicians in higher education. Notably, offering the right motivational mix could lead to job satisfaction and performance. The current study aims to demonstrate the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors influencing job satisfaction and job performance among academicians working in Malaysian private higher educational institutions (PHEIs). Cross-sectional data were collected from the Malaysian PHEIs and the randomly selected 343 samples. The data analysis was performed with the dual analysis of partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) analysis. As a result, it was found that financial rewards, promotion, performance appraisal, classroom environment, and code of conduct significantly predicted job satisfaction. The code of conduct, autonomy, and self-efficacy strongly influenced job performance. The relationship between job satisfaction and job performance was highly moderated by self-efficacy. It was suggested from the ANN analysis that the three prominent factors influencing job satisfaction are financial rewards, performance appraisal, and code of conduct. The analysis supported three significant factors influencing job performance: self-efficacy, performance appraisal, and code of conduct. The management of PHEIs should build the correct policies to transform job satisfaction into job performance. Self-efficacy plays an essential role in activating job performance. Other significant motivating factors that promote job satisfaction and performance, such as emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and other personal traits, should be included in future studies. In addition, future research could use a mixed-method or multi-respondent approach to investigate the important variables and their impact on lecturers' job satisfaction and performance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Sinniah, Al Mamun, Md Salleh, Makhbul and Hayat.)

Digital technologies empower users to manage their health and reduce the burden on the public health system. The mass adoption of wearable medical devices (WMDs) promotes the ageing population's confidence besides facilitating users. Thus, the current study aims to empirically evaluate the formation of perceived product value (PPV) with the WMDs' computability, usefulness, cost, and accuracy, the intention to use WMDs influenced by health consciousness (HCS), health anxiety (HAY), product value, and perceived critical mass (PCM), and later the adoption of WMDs among Chinese adults. The study examined the mediating effect of PPV on the relationship between the intention to use WMDs and perceived compatibility (PCT), perceived cost (PCO), perceived usefulness (PUS), and perceived technology accuracy (PTA). This study adopted a cross-sectional approach and used an online survey to collect quantitative data from 1,160 Chinese adults. Data analysis was performed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results showed that PCT, PUS, and PTA significant positive effect on PPV. Meanwhile, HCS, PCM, and PPV has a significant positive effect on intention to use WMDs, and the intention to use WMDs and PCM influenced the adoption of WMDs. Consequently, the analysis confirmed that PPV mediated the relationships between the intention to use WMD and PCT, PUS, and PTA. The WMD cost must be reduced to enhance the value of WMDs. Finally, the study's implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Conservative agriculture practice (CAP) adoption literature advocates that adoption is caused by many factors comprising cognitive, social, economic, personal, and CAP-related factors. Evaluating the adoption of CAPs as the outcome is complex and challenging with regression-based models as the systemic interdependencies of the factors offer diverse or varying results. Farmer production and environmental orientations as cognitive stances are notable interpreters of CAP adoption. The appetite level for risk-taking, innovativeness, and trust facilitates the adoption of CAPs. However, a causal-predictive technique should be used to investigate the adoption of CAP. Hence, this study engages in a configuration approach using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) to analyze the patterns of different types of farmers' orientations, personal level of trust on extension services, and innovativeness risk-taking attitude on the intention to adopt CAPs. The analysis is based on the 155-farmer data collected employing a structured interview from Pakistan. The results suggest that a higher level of environment orientation and innovativeness is sufficient to increase the intention to adopt CAPs. Moreover, a higher intention to adopt CAPs is achieved with a lower production orientation, a higher personal level of innovativeness, and a risk-taking attitude of the farmer. The innovativeness can help to develop the intention to adopt the CAPs among the environment and production-oriented farmers. Causal solutions offer a unique understanding that the farmers' environment and production orientation can combine to suggest inclined to adopt CAPs by having an attitude of innovativeness and risk-taking. The causal solutions achieved significant predictive validity in the holdout samples. Policy and farmer-level suggestions were made to raise the intention to adopt CAPs among the farmers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Hayat, Al Mamun, Salameh, Yang, Zainol and Makhbul.)

Sustainable enterprises are essential for developing economies' progress and prosperity. Micro-enterprises (MEs) play an important role in creating jobs and actively participating in socioeconomic activities. However, little is known about how MEs use internal capabilities to achieve long-term success. This study explores the influence of the strategic orientations (i.e., sales, consumer, competitive, emotional, business, and networking) instigating the sustainability orientation. The sustainability orientation nurtures the sustainable performance of the MEs. The cross-sectional data collected from the 450 MEs with the structured interviews and samples were randomly selected from the list of MEs registered in seven districts of Kelantan, Malaysia. The collected data were analyzed with partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The data analysis discovered that the sale, consumer, competitive, and emotional orientation significantly impact the MEs' sustainable orientation. The business and networking orientations insignificantly facilitate the sustainable orientation among the samples. The MEs' sustainable orientation suggestively influences the sustainable performance among the MEs. Furthermore, the study analysis postulated a significant mediating effect of sustainable orientation among the orientations (sale, consumer, competitive, and emotional) on the MEs' sustainable performance. Our study offers a better understanding of the RBV in the MEs and brings significant empirical evidence to attain sustainable performance with the firm's level orientation for the MEs. The study brings forward the practical implication for business and policymakers that the MEs require internal and external support to align the business and networking orientation to harness the sustainable performance among the MEs. In the end, the study limitations and future research options are highlighted., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wan Mustapa, Hayat, Fazal, Al Mamun, Salameh and Zainol.)

Strategic orientation and innovation are vital determinants for accelerating the performance of small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, there is a lack of empirical evidence confirming the innovation at the product and process levels that instigated the SMEs' performance. Moreover, the mediating effect of process and product innovation can play a significant role in strategic orientation and manufacturing SMEs' performance. In this respect, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of product and process innovation between strategic orientation (i.e., market, entrepreneurial, and customer orientation) and the performance of Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. The questionnaire survey gathered data from 360 manufacturing SMEs and was analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to achieve these research objectives. The study analysis established that customer and entrepreneurial orientation significantly influence product and service innovation. However, the market orientation is significant for process innovation but insignificant for product-level innovation among SMEs. The study's consequences exposed that process innovation has significantly mediated between the strategic (market, customer, and entrepreneurial) orientation and SMEs performance. It implies that market, entrepreneurial, and customer-related strategies would substantially improve SMEs' performance by harnessing innovation at product and process levels. The core insights provided by the current work are to strengthen the strategic orientation that can promote product and process innovation, thereby harnessing the SMEs' performance. Additionally, the study's significance and limitations were reported at the end., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Al Mamun, Hayat, Fazal, Salameh, Zainol and Makhbul.)

Technology plays an increasingly important role in our daily lives. The use of technology-based healthcare apps facilitates and empowers users to use such apps and saves the burden on the public healthcare system during COVID-19. Through technology-based healthcare apps, patients can be virtually connected to doctors for medical services. This study explored users' intention and adoption of eDoctor apps in relation to their health behaviors and healthcare technology attributes among Chinese adults. Cross-sectional data were collected through social media, resulting in a total of 961 valid responses for analysis. The hybrid analysis technique of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) analysis was applied. The obtained results revealed the significant influence of eDoctor apps in terms of usefulness, compatibility, accuracy, and privacy on users' intention to use eDoctor apps. Intention and product value were also found to suggestively promote the adoption of eDoctor apps. This study offered practical recommendations for the suppliers and developers of eHealth apps to make every attempt of informing and building awareness to nurture users' intention and usage of healthcare technology. Users' weak health consciousness and motivation are notable barriers that restrict their intention and adoption of the apps. Mass adoption of eDoctor apps can also be achieved through the integration of the right technology features that build the product value and adoption of eDoctor apps. The limitations of the current study and recommendations for future research are presented at the end of this paper., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Al Mamun, Hayat, Md. Salleh, Salameh and Makhbul.)

This study explored the effect of attitude towards entrepreneurship (ATE), need for achievement (NFA), risk-taking propensity (RTP), proactive personality (PRP), self-efficacy (SLE), opportunity recognition competency (ORC), entrepreneurship education, uncertainty avoidance (UNA), and entrepreneurial knowledge (ENK) on entrepreneurial intention (ENIN) among university students in Malaysia. This quantitative study had adopted the cross-sectional design approach and involved 391 university students in Malaysia via the online survey. The study outcomes revealed that the NFA, PRP, and SLE significantly affect students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Moreover, entrepreneurship education and UNA significantly affect ORC. Finally, ATE has a positive and significant effect on ENIN among university students in Malaysia. As entrepreneurship offers an alternative career path for people seeking economic prosperity and addressing social issues, including unemployment, the government should formulate effective policies and regulations that support entrepreneurship activities. Universities and other institutions should play a pivotal role in providing the proper exposure via entrepreneurship education while honing the essential traits for a career in entrepreneurship., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wiramihardja, N’dary, Al Mamun, Munikrishnan, Yang, Salamah and Hayat.)

The global progress empowers the development of new business and expansion of existing business. The availability of sufficient accounting professional are necessary to manage and document the business activities. However, youth are less inclined to purse accounting as profession to keep the progress of global and local economic development. The current study aimed to explore the formation of the intention to pursue Certified Professional Accountancy Qualification (CPAQ) with factor of capabilities, career opportunities, job security with respect to the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), i.e., attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from a total of 339 accounting students from Malaysia using an online survey. The finding revealed that capabilities and career opportunities influenced the students' intention to pursue CPAQ. Meanwhile, perceived behavioral control had significantly affect the students' decision to pursue CPAQ, which is in line with the TPB. The study concentrated on the importance of these factors in influencing the students' intention and decision to pursue CPAQ. The study offered vital implications for accounting educators and educational institutions to promote the accounting profession as choice and students engage in pursuing CPAQ. The Malaysian government should encourage and support accounting students financially for pursuing CPAQ by providing job security and enhancing subjective norms that may enable these students to complete the required professional qualifications. The study's limitations and future research opportunities are documented at the end of this article., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chi, Sin Yi, Al Mamun, Hayat, Salamah and Yang.)

The study examined the effect of celebrity attractiveness, celebrity trustworthiness, and celebrity cause fit on the attitude toward green cosmetics. This was followed by the effect of brand awareness, brand associations, brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand credibility on brand equity, including the impact of attitude toward green cosmetics and brand equity on the willingness to purchase green cosmetics among of young Chinese consumers. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from 301 respondents using a structured questionnaire, which was distributed online using various social media platforms. It was found that celebrity attractiveness, celebrity trustworthiness, and celebrity cause-fit had a significant impact on the attitudes toward green cosmetic, while brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand credibility substantially affected brand equity. Moreover, the attitudes toward green cosmetics and brand equity had a strong impact on the willingness to purchase green cosmetics. To increase the sales for green cosmetics, the advertisements for it should have appeal, trustworthiness, and cause-fit celebrities to improve consumers' attitudes and willingness to purchase green cosmetics. Finding of this study provide a guideline for green cosmetic manufacturers, to direct their resources to enhance brand loyalty, credibility, and perceived quality of the product they produce by highlighting the difference between conventional and green cosmetics., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Lili, Al Mamun, Hayat, Salamah, Yang and Ali.)

Social media has changed the marketing phenomenon, as firms use social media to inform, impress, and retain the existing consumers. Social media marketing empowers business firms to generate perceived brand equity activities and build the notion among consumers to continue using the firms' products and services. The current exploratory study aimed to examine the effects of social media marketing activities on brand equity (brand awareness and brand image) and repurchase intention of high-tech products among Chinese consumers. The study used a cross-sectional design, and the final analysis was performed on 477 valid responses that were collected through an online survey. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) analysis were performed. The obtained results revealed positive and significant effects of trendiness, interaction, and word of mouth on brand awareness. Customisation, trendiness, interaction, and word of mouth were found to positively affect brand image. Brand awareness and brand image were found to affect repurchase intention. The results of multilayer ANN analysis suggested trendiness as the most notable factor in developing brand awareness and brand image. Brand awareness was found to be an influential factor that nurtures repurchase intention. The study's results confirmed the relevance of social media marketing activities in predicting brand equity and brand loyalty by repurchase intention. Marketing professionals need to concentrate on entertainment and customisation aspects of social media marketing that can help to achieve brand awareness and image. The limitations of study and future research opportunities are presented at the end of this article., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Clinical evidence suggests that some patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) experience a variety of complications associated with significant morbidity, especially in severe cases during the initial spread of the pandemic. To support early interventions, we propose a machine learning system that predicts the risk of developing multiple complications. We processed data collected from 3,352 patient encounters admitted to 18 facilities between April 1 and April 30, 2020, in Abu Dhabi (AD), United Arab Emirates. Using data collected during the first 24 h of admission, we trained machine learning models to predict the risk of developing any of three complications after 24 h of admission. The complications include Secondary Bacterial Infection (SBI), Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). The hospitals were grouped based on geographical proximity to assess the proposed system's learning generalizability, AD Middle region and AD Western & Eastern regions, A and B, respectively. The overall system includes a data filtering criterion, hyperparameter tuning, and model selection. In test set A, consisting of 587 patient encounters (mean age: 45.5), the system achieved a good area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) for the prediction of SBI (0.902 AUROC), AKI (0.906 AUROC), and ARDS (0.854 AUROC). Similarly, in test set B, consisting of 225 patient encounters (mean age: 42.7), the system performed well for the prediction of SBI (0.859 AUROC), AKI (0.891 AUROC), and ARDS (0.827 AUROC). The performance results and feature importance analysis highlight the system's generalizability and interpretability. The findings illustrate how machine learning models can achieve a strong performance even when using a limited set of routine input variables. Since our proposed system is data-driven, we believe it can be easily repurposed for different outcomes considering the changes in COVID-19 variants over time., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Objective: To assess the visual outcome after sling procedure using prolene sutures in children with simple congenital ptosis., Methods: A descriptive case series study was performed in the Department of Ophthalmology of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, for a duration of six months in which 20 patients aged 3-10 years were selected with either unilateral or bilateral congenital ptosis. They were thoroughly examined and visual acuity and degree of ptosis were measured pre-operatively. Frontalis sling surgery was performed using prolene sutures on all patients after which their visual acuity and degree of ptosis were measured once again after three months post-operatively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. For qualitative variables, frequency and percentages were calculated. Mean and Standard deviation was commutated for the quantitative variable., Results: The mean age of the patients was 8.15±1.75. 11 (55%) male and 9 (45%) female participants were included in the study. Visual acuity improved in all the patients with all the patients attaining a visual acuity of 6/6 (n=12, 60%), 6/9 (n=7, 35%), and 6/12 (n=1, 5%). The degree of ptosis post-operatively was not found in any patient either., Conclusion: Sling procedure helped in eliminating ptosis and improved visual acuity in patients with simple congenital ptosis., (Copyright: © Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences.)