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This research scrutinizes the critical effect of human resource practices on the competitive advantage of supply chain management. It is proposed that HR practices positively affect supply chain management success of small medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan but ignores the relative importance among different factors about organizational performance. Survey responses of 100 were collected via simple random sampling from the manufacturing and services sectors of SME in Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure the fitness of the measurement model, and subsequently, the structural model was used to test the hypotheses. The findings show that all HR practices are positively related to the improvement in supply chain management as perceived by the employees of the concerned SME organizations. Since the research has integrating by providing valuable visions and understandings for improving the supply chain management by executing these HR practices. So, manufacturing and services industries must focus more on these practices and give new concentration when dealing with their relevant organization to get upper hand over competitors. Results of this study would also be helpful for HRM managers especially in less developed countries that are, Pakistan who intend to improve supply chain management through the implementation of these practices.

Transformational leadership is credited to inspire, motivate and support their employees in order to achieve organizational objectives. These leaders maintain the quality of workforce by inculcating visionary skills and abilities in their subordinates. This paper aims to examine the nexus of transformational leadership with employees’ job performance in telecom sector of Pakistan. The data is collected from the employees of PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited) head quarter, Islamabad through questionnaire. Sampling was made using purposive sampling technique. 150 questionnaires were distributed among the employees, out of which 120 were received back recording a response rate of 80 percent. It was hypothesized that transformational leadership is positively associated with employees’ job performance. Data is analyzed using correlation and regression analysis through SPSS. Results of the study indicate that majority of the PTCL employees agree that transformational leadership style has significant positive impact on employees job performance. In the light of the findings of this research it is recommended for PTCL management to adopt transformational leadership style to tackle today’s dynamic environment.

Introduction. The inheritance studies on hypoxia tolerance in cotton are very scanty. Objective. The objective of this work was to study the inheritance pattern of seed cotton yield, ginning out-turn, and fiber length under normal and hypoxia conditions. Materials and Methods. An 8•8 diallel mating system was employed in F1 generation of cotton. The experiment was conducted during the years 2011-2012 at Cotton Research Institute, Multan, Pakistan. Results. Analysis of variance revealed significant variation (P

The aim of this article is to explore the moderating effect of employee satisfaction on the relationship of goal-setting and purposes, fairness and rating scale format with employee job performance in the academic setting. Data were collected through survey questionnaire from 300 employees working in six public sector universities of KP, Pakistan. Multiple regression analysis has been used to test the hypothesis. The dimensions of the performance appraisal were found to be significantly correlated to employee job performance and employee satisfaction played a crucial role in moderating this relationship. Potential reasons and suggestions for managers and employees are discussed. The paper adds to the current pool of knowledge on the links among goal-setting and purposes, fairness, rating scale format, employee satisfaction and employee job performance. Various facets of these constructs were analyzed, so as to give an extensive and more ample understanding of the determinants that influence employer and employees

The purpose of this article is to find out the importance of organizational justice and its types along with employee satisfaction in the performance appraisal system. Data were collected from a sample of 180 respondents who replied their opinions regarding the variables included in the study. This study used SPSS to analyze collected data. The findings of study found a linkage of three kinds of organizational justice with performance appraisal. Also a strong association of employee satisfaction was found with components of organizational justice. The core restriction is that this study provides information limited to only one source, i.e. employees. This paper has practical effects on human resource development as it gives human resource practitioners and also to managers acting as rater of their employees with different ideas and recommendations. Such ideas and recommendations typify how to maximize the perceived justice of the performance appraisal system in higher education sector of Pakistan. This study will also add some extra knowledge to the stake holders in higher education sector to understand and pinpoint the role of performance appraisal in academic sector.

Performance appraisal is considered to be the most significant element of performance management but often the former involves controversial practices, among other variables influenced by accuracy and effectiveness. However, it is generally understood that performance appraisal system commonly result into positive organizational outcomes, yet the accuracy of the measuring tools is still an arguable issue with more criticisms. The ongoing matters are measured and tested as a case study approach by paying attention on higher education institutions. Since higher education is progressively playing a vital role in economic competitiveness of a country. Aiming to examine the effect of rater motivation and rater training on performance appraisal process in public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and recognized as a critical contribution to organizational and people’s performance. Thus, this study finds the effects and consequences of rater motivation and rater training on performance appraisal system. This study is survey based, 300 questionnaires in total were distributed among the faculty of public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Out of which 160 were received back recording response rate of 53%. Findings of this study indicate that there was positive and significant relationship between rater motivation and performance appraisal and also between rater training and performance appraisal in public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The current study offers researchers with the opportunity to search performance appraisal from a new perspective which has never been explored before in a developing country like Pakistan.

It is critical for intelligent vehicles to be capable of monitoring the health and well-being of the drivers they transport on a continuous basis. This is especially true in the case of autonomous vehicles. To address the issue, an automatic system is developed for driver’s real emotion recognizer (DRER) using deep learning. The emotional values of drivers in indoor vehicles are symmetrically mapped to image design in order to investigate the characteristics of abstract expressions, expression design principles, and an experimental evaluation is conducted based on existing research on the design of driver facial expressions for intelligent products. By substituting a custom-created CNN features learning block with the base 11 layers CNN model in this paper for the development of an improved faster R-CNN face detector that detects the driver’s face at a high frame per second (FPS). Transfer learning is performed in the NasNet large CNN model in order to recognize the driver’s various emotions. Additionally, a custom driver emotion recognition image dataset is being developed as part of this research task. The proposed model, which is a combination of an improved faster R-CNN and transfer learning in NasNet-Large CNN architecture for DER based on facial images, enables greater accuracy than previously possible for DER based on facial images. The proposed model outperforms some recently updated state-of-the-art techniques in terms of accuracy. The proposed model achieved the following accuracy on various benchmark datasets: JAFFE 98.48%, CK+ 99.73%, FER-2013 99.95%, AffectNet 95.28%, and 99.15% on a custom-developed dataset.

A variable refrigerant flow integrated stratum ventilation (VRF-SV) system was proposed as an energy efficient substitute for conventional central cooling systems for buildings. The novel system provided conditioned air to enclosed spaces with high indoor air quality and thermal comfort. This study investigated the effects of different types of ASTDs on the performance of the VRF-SV hybrid system. The performance was experimentally evaluated with five air terminal types, including bar grille, double deflection grille, jet slot, perforated and drum louver diffusers. The evaluation was carried out using standard indices: temperature and velocity distribution, airflow pattern, effective draft temperature (EDT), air distribution performance index (ADPI), thermal sensation vote and comfort feedback survey. The results indicated that the ASTD type had a significant impact on airflow pattern. Furthermore, the bar grille diffuser provided the occupants with greater thermal comfort and acceptable indoor environment. Almost all the EDT values determined in the breathing zone in the case with bar grille diffuser found under the satisfactory range, i.e., −1.2 < K < 1.2. Based on these values, the ADPI for bar grille diffuser was calculated as 92.8%. Thus, the bar grille diffuser is recommended to be installed with the VRF-SV hybrid system in buildings.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess clinical profile, complications, management, and outcome of postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis. Methods: In this prospective study, 1320 patients were followed for the development of post‑ERCP pancreatitis. Post‑ERCP complications and outcome were assessed. Results: The percentage of post‑ERCP pancreatitis in our patients was 5.3%. The mean age of patients with post‑ERCP pancreatitis was 49.9 years. About 15.7% of the patients who developed post‑ERCP pancreatitis experienced complications in the form of respiratory failure and sepsis. Conclusion: The incidence of post‑ERCP pancreatitis was 5.3%. The major complications after post‑ERCP pancreatitis were respiratory failure and sepsis. The outcome of post‑ERCP pancreatitis was good, as there was no mortality. However, majority of patients with severe post‑ERCP pancreatitis developed sepsis and received antibiotics.

Introduction: Transcription factors are very diverse family of proteins involved in activating or repressing the transcription of a gene at a given time. Several studies using animal models demonstrated the role of transcription factor genes in craniofacial development. Objective: We aimed to investigate the association of IRF6 intron-6 polymorphism in the non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate in a South Indian population. Methods: 173 unrelated nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate patients and 176 controls without clefts patients were genotyped for IRF6 rs2235375 variant by allele-specific amplification using the KASPar single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping system. The association between interferon regulatory factor-6 gene intron-6 dbSNP208032210:g.G>C (rs2235375) single nucleotide polymorphism and non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate risk was investigated by chi-square test. Results: There were significant differences in genotype or allele frequencies of rs2235375 single nucleotide polymorphism between controls and cases with non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate. IRF6 rs2235375 variant was significantly associated with increased risk of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate in co-dominant, dominant (OR: 1.19; 95% CI 1.03–2.51; p = 0.034) and allelic models (OR: 1.40; 95% CI 1.04–1.90; p = 0.028). When subset analysis was applied significantly increased risk was observed in cleft palate only group (OR dominant: 4.33; 95% CI 1.44–12.97; p = 0.005). Conclusion: These results suggest that IRF6 rs2235375 SNP play a major role in the pathogenesis and risk of developing non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate. Resumo: Introdução: Fatores de transcrição constituem uma família de proteínas muito diversa envolvida na ativação ou repressão da transcrição de um gene, em um determinado momento. Vários estudos usando modelos animais demonstraram o papel dos genes do fator de transcrição no desenvolvimento craniofacial. Objetivo: Nosso objetivo foi investigar a associação do polimorfismo IRF6 intron-6 na fenda labial não sindrômica com ou sem fenda palatina em uma população do sul da Índia. Método: Um total de 173 pacientes com fenda labial não sindrômica com ou sem fenda palatina e 176 controles sem fendas foram genotipados para a variante IRF6 rs2235375 por amplificação alelo-específica utilizando o sistema KASPar de genotipagem de polimorfismo de nucleotídeo único. A associação entre o polimorfismo de nucleotídeo único Fator 6 Regulatório do Interferon(IRF6) intron-6 dbSNP208032210:g.G>C (rs2235375) e o risco de fenda labial não sindrômica com ou sem fenda palatina foi investigado pelo teste qui-quadrado. Resultadoss: Houve diferenças significativas nas frequências de genótipos ou alelos do rs2235375 SNP entre controles e casos com fenda labial não sindrômica com ou sem fenda palatina. A variante IRF6 rs2235375 foi significativamente associada ao aumento do risco de fenda labial não sindrômica com ou sem fenda palatina em modelos codominantes, dominantes (OR: 1,19; IC 95%: 1,03-2,51; p = 0,034) e alélicos (OR: 1,40; IC 95%: 1,04-1,90; p = 0,028). Quando a análise do subgrupo foi realizada, um risco significativamente aumentado foi observado no grupo Fenda Palatina Isolada (OR dominante: 4,33; IC 95%: 1,44-12,97; p = 0,005). Conclusões: Esses resultados sugerem que o polimorfismo de nucleotídeo único IRF6 rs2235375 desempenha um papel importante na patogênese e risco de desenvolvimento de fenda labial não sindrômica com ou sem fenda palatina. Keywords: IRF6, Orofacial clefts, NSCL/P, SNP, Palavras-chave: IRF6, Fendas orofaciais, NSCL/P, SNP

Esophageal lung is a rare communicating bronchopulmonary foregut malformation in which the main bronchus arising from the trachea is absent. The affected lung is usually hypoplastic and aerated via an anomalous airway originating from the esophagus. Other anomalies such as esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula or VACTERL (vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheoesophageal fistula, renal anomalies, and limb abnormalities) association can co-exist. The initial radiographic findings may be normal, but subsequent imaging usually shows progressive and recurrent lung collapse, probably because of recurrent aspiration through the anomalous airway and poor compliance of the affected lung during breathing. In this report, we describe a neonate with esophageal lung and rare associated anomalies, including anorectal malformation, pulmonary artery sling, and inferior vena cava interruption with azygous continuation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of esophageal lung with such associations. Keywords: Airway anomalies, Anorectal malformation, Bronchial atresia, Communicating bronchopulmonary foregut malformation, Esophageal bronchus, Esophageal lung

The present investigations were designed to determine the impact of picking dates on seed germination, 100 seed weight and various fiber parameters. Two genotypes FH-113 and FH-114 were evaluated under early and normal sowing. Nine and six pickings were taken under early and normal conditions, respectively. The results revealed significant variation in both the years for fiber traits but for seed germination, the results were non-significant and for seed weight remained significant under both sowing times, respectively. For picking time the estimates were significant under both sowing times thus exhibiting the major role of picking time in this experiment. For germination percentage, the results were variable for both the genotypes. For genotype FH-113, germination remained above 60% during 1st pick and for 5th, 6th, and 7th pick, the germination rates were higher and nearing almost 70%. For 2nd genotype, the germination remained below 50% from pick-1 to pick-4 and above 50% in pick 5 and 8 but for all other pickings the values remained in the range 45–50%. Under normal sowing both genotypes exhibited germination percentage near 60% at 1st pick but for 2nd and 3rd pick, the germination rate remained between 45% and 50%. Regarding correlation studies among the studied traits germination % had positive and highly significant correlation with 100 seed weight under both sowing times. Fiber fineness and strength had strong and highly significant correlation with fiber maturity under both conditions. The results from this study revealed that pickings during favorable conditions produce better quality and germination.

Background and motivation: Every year, millions of Muslims worldwide come to Mecca to perform the Hajj. In order to maintain the security of the pilgrims, the Saudi government has installed about 5000 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor crowd activity efficiently. Problem: As a result, these cameras generate an enormous amount of visual data through manual or offline monitoring, requiring numerous human resources for efficient tracking. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an intelligent and automatic system in order to efficiently monitor crowds and identify abnormal activity. Method: The existing method is incapable of extracting discriminative features from surveillance videos as pre-trained weights of different architectures were used. This paper develops a lightweight approach for accurately identifying violent activity in surveillance environments. As the first step of the proposed framework, a lightweight CNN model is trained on our own pilgrim’s dataset to detect pilgrims from the surveillance cameras. These preprocessed salient frames are passed to a lightweight CNN model for spatial features extraction in the second step. In the third step, a Long Short Term Memory network (LSTM) is developed to extract temporal features. Finally, in the last step, in the case of violent activity or accidents, the proposed system will generate an alarm in real time to inform law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action, thus helping to avoid accidents and stampedes. Results: We have conducted multiple experiments on two publicly available violent activity datasets, such as Surveillance Fight and Hockey Fight datasets; our proposed model achieved accuracies of 81.05 and 98.00, respectively.

Cloud computing has recently been evolved in terms of the dynamic provision of computing resources to the users based on payment for usage on a pay-as-you-go basis. This provides feasibility to gain access to the large-scale and high-speed resources without establishing their own computing infrastructure to execute high-performance computing (HPC) applications. However, for the past several years, the efficient utilization of resources on a compute cloud has become a prime interest of the scientific community. One of the major causes behind inefficient resource utilization is the imbalance distribution of workload in a distributed computing. This paper contemplates the scheduling objectives of contemporary state-of-the-art heuristics to investigate their behavior to map HPC jobs to resources. Furthermore, the status of workload distribution in cloud computing is also critically assessed. A set of nine scheduling heuristics is validated in the CloudSim simulation environment. The potential of all the heuristics in terms of resource utilization is assessed by combining the workload balancing and machine-level load imbalance using different instances of benchmark scientific datasets (i.e., Heterogeneous Computing Scheduling Problems instances and Google Cloud Jobs dataset). The empirical assessment shows that it is not only an optimal solution to schedule the independent jobs on machines solely based on the execution time, throughput, and average resource utilization ratio; instead, the machine-level load balancing must also be considered to effectuate the usage of full capacity of computing power in a cloud system. Among all the heuristics, Resource-aware load balancing algorithm (RALBA) heuristic has outperformed, and it seems an optimal choice in terms of the tradeoff between complexity and the performance in terms of resource utilization and machine-level load balancing.

This paper analyses data from a qualitative study undertaken with children and their families in two cash transfer programmes (CTPs) in Pakistan. Using a three-dimensional child well-being model that distinguishes material, relational and subjective dimensions, it argues that CTPs have helped extremely poor families sustain their basic dietary needs and marginally increase their health spending. Additional conditional payments have led to increased primary school enrolments, but CTPs have failed to address the distinctive vulnerabilities of children, including their nutritional needs, relational well-being and social status. A more holistic and child-sensitive approach to social protection would be the way forward to improve child well-being in line with the United Nations Charter on Rights of Children (UNCRC) to which Pakistan is a signatory.

Developments in the design of wind turbines with augmentation are advancing around the globe with the goal of generating electricity close to the user in built-up areas. This is certain to help lessen the power generation load as well as distribution and transmission network costs by reducing the distance between the user and the power source. The main objectives driving the development and advancement of vertical-axis wind turbines are increasing the power coefficient and the torque coefficient by optimizing the upstream wind striking on the rotor blades. Unlike horizontal-axis wind turbines, vertical axis turbines generate not only positive torque but also negative torque during operation. The negative torque generated by the returning blade is a key issue for vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) that is counterproductive. Installation of wind deflectors for flow augmentation helps to reduce the negative torque generated by the returning blades as well as enhance the positive torque by creating a diversion in the upstream wind towards the forwarding blade during operation. This paper reviews various designs, experiments, and CFD simulations of wind deflectors reported to date. Optimization techniques for VAWTs incorporating wind deflectors are discussed in detail. The main focus of the review was on the installation position and orientation of the deflectors and their potential contribution to increasing the power coefficient. Topics for future study are suggested in the conclusion section of the paper.

Rooftop, building integrated and building augmented micro wind systems have the potential for small scale power generation in the built environment. Nevertheless, the expansion of micro wind technology is very slow and its market is strongly affected by the low efficiency of conventional wind generators. WAG-RH (Wind Accelerating and Guiding Rotor House) which is a new technique introduced to enhance the efficiency of vertical axis rotor. The present study utilizes other green energy element by integrating the WAG-RH with a solar heating system. In this effort roof of the WAG-RH has been utilized to heat air through micro solar chimney for creating buoyancy effect in the air flow channel at rotor zone in the WAG-RH. The integration is capable of improving the performance of rotor setup in the WAG-RH as well as providing hot air with sufficient air mass flow rate for space heating. The WAG-RH had brought about 138% increase in the performance coefficient(Cp) of conventional three bladed Savonius rotor, whereas solar integrated WAG-RH has contributed 162% increase in the Cp of the same rotor.

Abstract Background The present study is an attempt to explore the association between kitchen indoor air pollutants and physiological profiles in kitchen workers with microalbuminuria (MAU) in north India (Lucknow) and south India (Coimbatore). Methods The subjects comprised 145 control subjects, 233 kitchen workers from north India and 186 kitchen workers from south India. Information related to the personal and occupational history and health of the subjects at both locations were collected using a custom-made questionnaire. Worker lung function was measured using a spirometer. Blood pressure was monitored using a sphygmomanometer. Urinary MAU was measured using a urine analyzer. Indoor air monitoring in kitchens for particulate matter (PM), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) was conducted using indoor air quality monitors. The size and shape of PM in indoor air was assessed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to detect organic or inorganic compounds in the air samples. Results Particulate matter concentrations (PM2.5 and PM1) were significantly higher in both north and south Indian kitchens than in non-kitchen areas. The concentrations of TVOC, CO and CO2 were higher in the kitchens of north and south India than in the control locations (non-kitchen areas). Coarse, fine and ultrafine particles and several elements were also detected in kitchens in both locations by SEM and elemental analysis. The FTIR spectra of kitchen indoor air at both locations show the presence of organic chemicals. Significant declines in systolic blood pressure and lung function were observed in the kitchen workers with MAU at both locations compared to those of the control subjects. A higher prevalence of obstruction cases with MAU was observed among the workers in the southern region than in the controls (p

The competitiveness and sustainability of employees in service and non-service-based organizations continue to trigger scholars’ interest to investigate the related factors. As per the review of literature, there are only a few studies have been conducted on abusive supervision and intrinsic motivation about employee psychological wellbeing and turnover intention. We applied the social exchange theory to abusive supervisors at the workplace. This study, therefore, explores the direct and indirect relationship between abusive supervision on subordinate psychological wellbeing and turnover in service-based organizations. This empirical study employs a quantitative research methodology to establish the mediating influence of intrinsic motivation between the underlying constructs. Out of 300 research questionnaires distributed to full-time employees working in service-based organizations in Pakistan, 225 responses were successful for analysis, and validation was conducted through partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results of this study demonstrate that abusive supervision (AS) positively impacting on both psychological wellbeing (PWB) and turnover intentions (TI) of the employees. More importantly, intrinsic motivation (IM) is also positively and significantly mediate the relationship between AS and PWB, and AS and TI. The study provides substantial implications to managers and leaders by redesigning existing strategies to promote a feasible culture within the working environment for the employees to improve performance. The current study enhances existing literature on employee wellbeing and human resource management by integrating intrinsic motivation (IM) as a mediation model/concept. Limitations and future research directions have been discussed in the entire paper.

Leadership stains affect the follower’s performances regarding innovative work behavior, and a gap is found in leadership research in higher education, specifically in Pakistan. The basic purpose of this research is to point out the effect of leadership styles on innovative work behavior under the mediating and moderating roles of organizational culture and organizational citizenship behavior among the Head of the Departments (HODs) in higher education institutions (HEIs). A survey method has been carried out to collect data from 160 respondents to, further, verify how leadership styles of academic leaders affect employees’ performances in universities. The statistical study exposes a substantial positive effect of leadership styles on innovative work behaviors of employees highlighting mediating and moderating effects of organizational culture and OCB on such a relationship. This study carries various implications for prior research in both theoretical and practical fields, and its scope may also be enlarged, geographically or institutionally, to another context. This research uncovers the relationship of leadership styles and innovative work behavior in academic research, which has been ignored before in higher education of Pakistan.

Introduction Vocal cord polyps commonly occur in those with a history of vocal abuse. Patients with large lesions generally undergo microlaryngeal surgery under general anaesthesia. This unique case report highlights a strange scenario where the patient coughed out a fleshy mass during his morning walk and which was later confirmed as a vocal cord polyp. Case Report A 62 year old male with a history of hoarseness of voice for 3 months presented to the ENT OPD holding a chunk of tissue which was apparently coughed out by him during his morning walk. After the incident, his symptoms had immediately improved. A videolaryngoscopy showed a congested spot on the right vocal cord being the probable site of origin of the lesion. On Histopathological examination, the tissue was reported as a vocal cord polyp. The patient was managed conservatively but the lesion recurred at the same site after a month for which a microlaryngeal excision was performed. Discussion Vocal cord polyps are fairly common in ENT practice and usually present to the clinic with hoarseness of voice. Polyps that are small are usually managed conservatively by voice therapy alone whereas large polyps require surgical excision. This unique case report highlights a strange clinical scenario where the patient coughed out a large vocal cord polyp (Auto-polypectomy) during a bout of acute cough. This event saved him a surgery at the first instance, but eventually had a recurrence and had to undergo an excision under GA.

Background: Metabolic bone disease complicating chronic liver disease (CLD) has become a major clinical problem. Methods: Our study was a prospective case control study included 70 cases and 70 controls. Patients with CLD falling in age group of 18 to 65 years constituted cases group. They were thoroughly examined and were subjected to baseline investigations including kidney function test, serum calcium levels, serum phosphorus levels, liver function test, complete blood count, lipid profile. All subjects were subjected to Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Scan (GE Lunar-1 Co. Prototype). Results: The prevalence of osteoporosis in our study at femur neck in the cases was 45.7% vs. 18% in the control group (p=0.001), while at L1-L2 it was 41.4% in cases vs. 15.7 %( p=0.001) in control group. No difference was found when both sites i.e. femur and L1-L2 were compared with each other (p=0.84, chi square of 0.33 in cases and p=0.58, chi square of 1.07 in case of controls).Prevalence of osteoporosis in our study in female cases and controls was higher than male counterparts both at femur and L1-L2. Peripheral DEXA and central DEXA had no difference in detecting osteoporosis among male and female sex. Conclusion: CLD is an independent risk factor for osteoporosis, hence patients who are first time diagnosed CLD should be screened for osteoporosis with central or peripheral DEXA, and subsequently managed to prevent complications and morbidity associated with osteoporosis.

Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a well-established psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in patients for therapeutic effects. ECT can produce severe disturbances in the cardiovascular system and a marked increase in cerebral blood flow and intracranial pressure. These cardiovascular changes may be altered using various anesthetic drugs. Aim and Objectives: This study was undertaken to compare the effects of intravenous (IV) sodium thiopentone, propofol, and etomidate, used as IV anesthetic agents in modified ECT as regards, induction time and quality of anesthesia, alteration of hemodynamics, seizure duration, and recovery time. Materials and Methods: A total of 90 patients in the age group of 16–60 years of either sex, who had to undergo ECT therapy were divided randomly into three equal groups. Group A received propofol 1% - 1.5 mg/Kg, Group B received etomidate - 0.2 mg/Kg, and Group C received thiopentone 2.5% - 5 mg/Kg. All the patients were monitored for changes in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and oxygen saturation at basal, after induction and 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 5 min, 10 min, 20 min, and 30 min following ECT. Quality of anesthesia, seizure duration, and recovery times were also recorded. Conclusion: We found that propofol had the advantage of smooth induction, stable hemodynamic parameters and rapid recovery as compared to etomidate and thiopentone. Thiopentone had the advantage over propofol of having longer seizure duration at the cost of a relatively prolonged recovery period. Etomidate had a definite advantage of longer seizure duration.

An 8 × 8 diallel crossing system was employed in F1 generation of cotton to study the inheritance pattern of fiber related traits like micronaire, strength and maturity under normal and hypoxia conditions. Analysis of variance revealed significant variation (P < 0.01) for all the traits under both environments. The regression coefficient b deviated significantly from zero but not from unity for all studies traits allowed further analysis of the data. The additive component (D) was significant for all the traits and more than the values of dominance components H1 and H2 in case of fiber strength under both conditions and for fiber uniformity under normal conditions thus showing the preponderance of additive genetic effects. For micronaire non-additive effects were predominant under both environments. Estimates of narrow sense heritability for micronaire were 38.6% under normal and 49.5% for hypoxia, 79 and 80% for fiber strength and for fiber uniformity the estimates were 79% under normal conditions and 63% under hypoxia conditions. Predominance of additive genetic effects, high heritability along with partial dominance for fiber strength under both conditions and for fiber uniformity under normal conditions is indicative of early generation selection but for micronaire under both conditions selection may be practiced in later generations.

This paper is mainly concerned with improving the effectiveness of training and development within health department of provincial govt. Pakistan. For this purpose training and development practices in both developing and developed countries have been explored through the review of published literature. Based on literature review, this paper has to discuss the effectiveness of training and development program through primary research based on semi structured interviews and questionnaire in the concerned department. The findings clearly revealed that training and development approach is not systematic at all with a view of just a formality in the concerned department and the main barriers appeared to be organizational environment and the political intervention. On the basis of the findings and discussion, conclusion has been drawn and recommendations have been made to adopt the training and development model presented in the literature review which is necessary to improve employee effectiveness through such programmes for strategic impact. Towards the end of the paper, future research design has been discussed briefly together with future research opportunities in the same field.

Incineration has gained popularity over landfill as a key solution for the reduction of massively increasing volumes of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation worldwide and in particular China. However, it is not the end solution. The disposal of the incineration residues, which are enriched with a wide range of heavy metals and soluble salts, has become a challenge for the environmental managers. The aim of this study was to review the increasing urbanization and its repercussion on waste generation in China; waste management options were compared for possible environmentally friendly considerations. Treatment techniques of incineration fly ash were discussed to determine the effectiveness of obtaining environmentally stable material, and, finally, possible applications of incineration fly ash for utilization were discussed based on identifying the processing suitability, performance and environmental impact of incineration fly ash for its applications.

Chicken anaemia virus (CAV), a member of the genus Gyrovirus, is the etiological agent of chicken infectious anaemia. CAV infects bone marrow-derived cells, resulting in severe anaemia and immunosuppression in young chickens and a compromised immune response in older birds. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of CAV in sick chickens in China from 2014 to 2015 and showed that the CAV-positive rate was 13.30%, in which mixed infection (55.56%) was the main type of infection. We isolated and identified 15 new CAV strains using different methods including indirect immunofluorescence assay and Western Blotting. We used overlapping polymerase chain reaction to map the whole genome of the strains. Phylogenetic analyses of the obtained sequences and related sequences available in GenBank generated four distinct groups (A-D). We built phylogenetic trees using predicted viral protein (VP) sequences. Unlike CAV VP2s and VP3s that were well conserved, the diversity of VP1s indicated that the new strains were virulent. Our epidemiological study provided new insights into the prevalence of CAV in clinical settings in recent years in China.

It was Fall 1998, here I was, at Howard University, the mecca. Walking the historic grounds of the campus, I was tracing the footsteps of luminaries and intellectual giants, scientists and activists, who gave birth to inventions and social movements, and who were of African, Afro-Caribbean and African American descent, among others. Before enrolling in the doctoral program in the School of Social Work, I had known of Dr. Nyang but only interacted with him in passing at a few programs. All over the world, for nearly four decades, among Muslims, Howard University was synonymous with Dr. Sulayman Shehu Nyang. This proud and brilliant son of Africa was known for his Gambian roots, his prolific scholarship, his contagious smile, his wit, his insights, his at once profound brilliance and his down to earth demeanor, and his steady hand as Chair of the African Studies department at Howard University. I can count with rare exception the number of times I introduced myself as being a doctoral student, an administrator, a faculty member and now a department chair at Howard University, and the almost instant reaction among Muslims – Oh yeah, Dr. Nyang is at Howard. I have never met anyone like him. That was my first reaction when I finally got to spend time with Dr. Nyang on the campus of Howard Univer- Altaf Husain serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Community, Administration and Policy Practice Concentration at the School of Social Work, Howard University ...

A greenhouse pot trial was conducted to investigate the effect of organic amendments combined with triple superphosphate on the bioavailability of heavy metals (HMs), Amorpha fruticosa growth and metal uptake from Pb-Zn mine tailings. Cattle manure compost (CMC), spent mushroom compost (SMC) and agricultural field soil (AFS) were applied to tailings at 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% w/w ratio, whereas sewage sludge (SS) and wood biochar (WB) were mixed at 2.5%, 5%, 10% and 20% w/w ratio. Triple superphosphate (TSP) was added to all the treatments at 4:1 (molar ratio). Amendments efficiently decreased DTPA-extracted Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu in treatments. Chlorophyll contents and shoot and root dry biomass significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the treatments of CMC (except T4 for chlorophyll b) and SMC, whereas treatments of SS (except T1 for chlorophyll a and b), WB and AFS (except T4 for chlorophyll a and b) did not show positive effects as compared to CK1. Bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) values in plant tissues were below 1 for most treatments. In amended treatments, soluble protein content increased, phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) decreased, and catalase (CAT) activity showed varied results as compared to CK1 and CK2. Results suggested that A. fruticosa can be a potential metal phytostabilizer and use of CMC or SMC in combination with TSP are more effective than other combinations for the in situ stabilization of Pb-Zn mine tailings.

Pediatric acute kidney injury (pAKI) is a common complication associated with high mortality in children. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and mortality in hospitalized (critically ill and non-critically ill) patients. This was a retrospective study conducted during the period of June 1, 2013, to May 31, 2014, at the Postgraduate Department of Pediatrics, G. B. Pant Hospital, an Associated Hospital of Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. All patients between the ages of one month and 18 years were included in the study, who had AKI. In general, out of 23,794 patients, 197 developed AKI (0.8%). On subgroup analysis, 2460 were critically ill and had Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission among whom 99 developed AKI (4%), whereas 21,334 had general pediatric ward admissions and 98 developed AKI (0.5%). Infantile age group was the most commonly 91 (46.2%) affected. The common causes of AKI were renal in 73 (37%), neurologic in 38 (19%), septicemia in 35 (18%), and inborn errors of metabolism in 30 (15.2%). Out of 197 pAKI patients, 42 (21.3%) died and all of them were critically sick (ICU admissions). The incidence of pAKI in general was 0.8%, whereas it was 4% in critically ill children and 0.5% in general ward admissions implying an eight-fold increased risk of pAKI in critically ill patients.

Objectives: Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is one of the most common craniofacial birth defects and little is known about its aetiology. Initial studies of cytogenetic analysis provided the clues for possible genes involved in the pathogenesis of NSCL/P. This approach led to the identification of SATB2 gene on 2q32-q33. The aim of this study was to determine the association between SATB2 mutations and NSCL/P. Materials and methods: The rs137853127, rs200074373 and rs1992950 mutations of the SATB2 gene were investigated in 173 patients with NSCL/P and 176 normal controls using Kbioscience KASPar chemistry, which is a competitive allele-specific PCR SNP genotyping system. Results: The mutations in exon 6 (rs137853127 and rs200074373) were monomorphic, the intronic variant (rs1992950) was polymorphic and genotype distribution was in agreement with Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The rs1992950 genotype distribution is not statistically significant between NSCL/P and controls. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the SATB2 gene variations do not contribute to the development of NSCL/P in the south Indian population.

Automated Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (AICD), simply known as an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), has been used in patients for more than 30 years. An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is a small battery-powered electrical impulse generator that is implanted in patients who are at a risk of sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia or any such related event. Typically, patients with these types of occurrences are on anticoagulant therapy. The desired International Normalized Ratio (INR) for these patients is in the range of 2–3 to prevent any subsequent cardiac event. These patients possess a challenge to the dentist in many ways, especially during oral surgical procedures, and these challenges include risk of sudden death, control of post-operative bleeding and pain.This article presents the dental management of a 60 year-old person with an ICD and concomitant anticoagulant therapy. The patient was on multiple medications and was treated for a grossly neglected mouth with multiple carious root stumps. This case report outlines the important issues in managing patients fitted with an ICD device and at a risk of sudden cardiac death. Keywords: Cardioverter Defibrillator, Arrhythmia, Warfarin, Dental extraction, INR

Osteoblastoma, a rare osteoblastic tumor, constitutes approximately 1% of all primary bone tumors. It is characterized by osteoid and bone formation with the presence of numerous osteoblasts. A 24-year-old female presented with a chief complaint of a painless swelling beneath the mandible, which was growing during the past 3 years. Radiological picture disclosed a well-circumscribed lesion with patchy radiopaque internal structure. After complete excision, the histopathological diagnosis was a benign osteoblastoma of the mandible. Differential diagnosis and immunohistochemical features are potentially useful for refining diagnosis of osteoblastoma.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare high-resolution ultrasonography (HR-USG) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangements. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 11 subjects with a chief complaint of TMJ discomfort, who were diagnosed as having TMJ internal derangement according to clinical diagnostic criteria (CDC) for temporomandibular disorders (TMD). A control group of eight subjects who had no sign of TMJ internal derangement were also examined. Imaging modalities (MRI and HR-USG) were performed on all the subjects (cases and controls). Results: Strong agreement was found between MRI and HR-USG in the diagnosis of TMJ internal derangements (k = 0.918, P < 0.001). Conclusion: MRI and HR-USG can be used to define the disc and its displacement.

Eagle′s syndrome is a diagnostic dilemma. Sometimes, it is diagnosed as an accidental finding whereas at other times, it is diagnosed as a syndrome based on complex clinical and radiological findings. Elongated styloid process can impinge on a number of nerves and vessels in the adjoining area, and symptoms can easily be confused with a variety of orofacial pain conditions. Hence, for the treatment and management of such cases, proper diagnosis is very important, and a dentist should always keep Eagle′s syndrome in mind while encountering patients with chronic orofacial pain.

Aim: The present investigation was conducted for evaluating the efficacy of estimating breeding values (BVs) using univariate animal model in comparison to sire model. The various parameters considered for evaluating the efficiency of both linear models were coefficient of determination (R2), coefficient of variation (CV), within sire variance or error variance and spearman’s rank correlation estimates. Materials and Methods: Data for the present investigation were spread over a period of 34 years from 1978 to 2012 and consisted of a total of 1988 lactation records of Holstein Friesian crossbred cows sired by 186 crossbred bulls. Results: The percentage of sires having BV (estimated by animal model) more than the average BV for the traits viz. age at first calving (AFC), first service period (FSP), first lactation length (FLL), first calving interval (FCI), first lactation 305 day milk yield (F305MY), first lactation total milk yield (FTMY), milk yield per day of first lactation length (MY/FLL) and milk yield per day of first calving interval (MY/FCI) were 48.05, 49.39, 55.07, 49.21, 50.00, 51.39, 48.67, 50.39%, respectively. The animal model had higher R2, lower CV and error variance for most of the fertility and production traits. The spearman’s rank correlation estimates indicated similarity of rankings by both the linear models as the animal model is an improvement of sire model. Conclusion: Animal model had a wider range of BVs indicating the greater differentiating ability of the model. Based on R2, CV and error variance animal model was found to be superior in comparison to sire model.

Development of composite from natural fiber for lower structural application is growing for long-term sustainable perspective. Cotton fiber composite material has the added advantages of high specific strength, corrosion resistance, low cost and low weight compared to glass fiber on the expense of internal components of IC engines. The primary aim of the research study is to examine the effect of the cotton fiber on mechanical properties of lower structural applications when added with the polyester resin. In this paper composite material sample has been prepared by hand Lay-Up process. A mould is locally developed in the laboratory for test sample preparation. Initially samples of polyester resin with appropriate ratio of the hardener were developed and tested. At the second stage yarns of cotton fiber were mixed with the polyester resin and sample specimens were developed and tested. Relative effect of the cotton as reinforcing agent was examined and observed that developed composite specimen possess significant improvement in mechanical properties such as tensile strength was improved as 19.78 % and modulus of elasticity was increased up to 24.81%. Through this research it was also observed that developed composite material was of ductile nature and its density decreases up to 2.6%. Results from this study were compared with relevant available advanced composite materials and found improved mechanical properties of developed composite material

Hemophilia A is a hemorrhagic trend almost exclusively affecting males (X-related recessive disease). In 85% of cases, it is caused by factor VIII deficiency, called hemophilia A or classic hemophilia. Successful anesthetic management depends on the special care and a multidisciplinary team of health professionals informed about the disease, including qualified hematologist, surgeon, and anesthesiologist.

Introduction: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are common pain conditions that have the highest prevalence among women of reproductive age. The high prevalence of TMD pain among women, pattern of onset after puberty, and lowered prevalence rates in the postmenopausal years suggest that female reproductive hormones play an etiological role in TMDs. Aims and Objectives: To assess the possible role of estrogen in female subjects with temporomandibular disorders. Materials and Methods: A total of 195 subjects were examined for the study and divided into two groups: TMD positive and TMD negative subjects, which were further divided into women of reproductive age (20-40 years) and postmenopausal women. The serum estrogen (β-estradiol) level was estimated in both the groups. In reproductive women, the serum estrogen level was estimated in the follicular phase. Conclusion: A statistically significant association was found between the female sex hormone estrogen (β-estradiol) level and temporomandibular disorders.

A clonal seed orchard (CSO) of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. at Hoshiarpur, India consisting of 20 clones originating from different agro-climatic conditions of four northern states (Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand) was the source of seeds for variability studies. There was lot of variation in seed size, seed weight, germination percent, germination value and growth rate in nursery of different clones over the years. Seed length, seed width and seed weight were positively correlated to each other but seed size had no effect on germination percent and germination value under laboratory conditions. However, seed weight was found positively correlated with germination percent in nursery with the seed lot of 2008 collection. The genetic parameters for seed traits and seedling growth also showed a wide range of variations in the orchard clones. Heritability values were found to be over 50 percent for seed weight and seed length. However, only seed weight showed high heritability value coupled with more genetic gain across the years, which indicate the presence of good amount of heritable additive component in seed weight. There was no consistency in the seed characters, germination and seedling growth parameters studied across the two years. Effect of clones was dominant and accounted for variation in seed size, seed weight, seed germination and growth parameters. Seed size or seed weight should not be used as criteria for grading of bulked seed lots of different clones, as it can narrow down genetic diversity by rejecting small seeds. The impact of these genetic differences in handling of seed lots during bulking and grading for mass propagation of nursery planting stock of D. sissoo is also discussed.

The polarization characteristics of birefringent tissues could be only partially obtained using linearly polarized light in polarization sensitive optical imaging. Here we analyze the change in polarization of backscattered light from birefringent structures versus the orientations of the incident polarizations using linearly, circularly and radially polarized light in a cross-polarized confocal microscope. A spatially variable retardation plate composed of eight sectors of λ/2 wave plates was used to transform linearly polarized light into a radially polarized light. Based on the experimental data obtained from ex-vivo measurements on human scalp hairs and in-vivo measurements on hair and skin, we exemplify that the underestimation of the birefringence content resulting from the orientation related effects associated with the use of linearly polarized light for imaging tissues containing wavy birefringent structures could be minimized by using radially polarized light.

Objective: This present study is aimed to investigate the association between interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and nonsyndromic cleft lip without without cleft palate (NSCLP) in the South Indian population. Subject and Methods: For this study, 190 unrelated NSCLP patients and 189 controls without clefts were genotyped with rs2235371 (V2741) and rs642961 SNPs using PCR-RFLP. The associations between NSCLP groups and IRF6 gene polymorphisms, as well as haplotypes, were analyzed using chi-squared test and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) of the odds ratios were calculated with the control groups as reference. Results: For controls, the minor allele frequencies of both variants, V2741 and rs642961, were 7.1% and 21.1%, respectively. Genotype data for both variants in control and cleft groups follow the Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. Between cases with NSCLP and controls, the two SNPs showed no differences in frequencies of the genotypes or alleles. The pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) values (D’=1 and r2=0.027) between V2741 and rs642961 revealed that these two SNPs are not in strong LD. Haplotype G-T showed a significantly reduced risk for oral clefts (p

Introduction: Minimally Invasive Dentistry (MID) emphasizes conservative caries management strategies resulting in less destruction of tooth structure, a deviation of the traditional GV Black’s restorative principles. However, there seems to be either deficiency in knowledge or little intention by general dental practitioners to adopt these principles. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude among general dental practitioners towards minimally invasive dentistry in Riyadh and AlKharj cities of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Self-administered structured questionnaires were handed to general dental practitioners (GDPs) in the cities of Riyadh and AlKharj in Saudi Arabia. Several questions, including Likert-type scale response categories (1–5), were used. The questions assessed the respondents’ levels of agreement regarding diagnostic, preventive and restorative techniques such as use of caries risk assessment, use of high fluoride tooth paste, Atraumatic Restorative Treatment and tunnel preparations. Results: Out of 200 respondents, 161 GDPs with overall response rate of 80.5% completed the questionnaires. The GDPs showed significantly different approach with regards to the use of sharp explorer for caries detection (p = 0.014). Almost 60% of the participants had received no special education regarding minimally invasive procedures. Moreover, GDPs who had received MID training showed significantly better knowledge and attitude in adopting minimally invasive techniques for both diagnosis and treatment of dental caries. Conclusion: Although GDPs possess knowledge about the benefits of MID; however, study showed deficiencies in their attitudes towards caries detection methods and application of minimally invasive dentistry procedures.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of periurethral bacterial flora in uncircumcised boys and to evaluate the effect of circumcision on alteration of periurethral uropathogenic bacterial flora. Materials and Methods: Pattern of periurethral bacterial flora before and after circumcision was studied prospectively in 124 boys. The results were analysed to compare change in bacterial colonisation before and after circumcision. Results: The age range was 6 weeks to 96 months. Most (94.3%) of the boys had religious indication and 5.7% had medical indication for circumcision. E. coli, Proteus and Klebsiella were most common periurethral bacterial flora in uncircumcised subjects. Coagulase-negative staphylococcus and Staphylococcus aureus was most common periurethral bacterial flora in circumcised subjects. In 66.1% of circumcised subjects, no bacteria were grown from periurethral region. Conclusion: We conclude that presence of prepuce is associated with great quantity of periurethral bacteria, greater likelihood of the presence of high concentration of uropathogens and high incidence of urinary tract infection (UTI). This study provides circumstantial evidence supporting the idea that early circumcision may be beneficial for prevention of UTI.

Background: Tramadol is an atypical analgesic agent. It has been shown that intramuscular or intravenous injection tramadol is able to inhibit M3 muscarinic receptors. Tramadol is able to mediate smooth muscles contraction and glandular secretions. We have evaluated the effects of single oral dose of tramadol given preoperatively on gastric juices pH in patients electively scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Materials and Methods: Sixty adult, American Society of Anesthesiologist I and II patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo (n = 30) or oral tramadol 50 mg (n = 30). General anesthesia was induced using propofol, fentanyl and cisatracurium. After induction of anesthesia 5 ml of gastric fluid was aspirated through orogastric tube. The gastric fluid pH was measured using pH meter. Result: There was no significant difference in the pH between the groups. Gastric pH of the placebo and tramadol groups was 1.97 versus 1.98 (P = 0.092) respectively. Conclusion: Preoperatively single oral dose of tramadol was unable to elevate the desired level of gastric acid secretions pH (>2.5). This may be due to pharmacokinetic disparity between the analgesic and pH elevating properties of tramadol.