Corporate Governance and Stock Price informativeness: Evidence from an Emerging Market

Emerging markets usually have weaker legal and governance environment. The weaker enforcement of investor protection laws leads to a poor information environment. Using data of all the listed non-financial firms from Pakistan stock exchange (PSX), we document the relationship between corporate governance variables and stock price informativeness. The results from two-stage least squares (2SLS) reveal that controlling shareholders in the form of block holding plays an effective role in improving informativeness. Due to the presence of these block ownership, the institutional investors remain largely short term investors and act passively. This behavior of institutional investors encourages managers to extract more cash flows leading to higher synchronicity. These findings suggest market regulators develop such a corporate governance mechanism that not only ensures investor protection but also advise firms to reduce information asymmetry by better disclosure and transparency. More specifically, in the Pakistani context, traditional corporate governance mechanisms through board room regulations may not improve informativeness, and regulators need to regulate the ownership regulations, including family ownership and controlling shareholders

Stock Market Performance and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during Covid-19 in Emerging Markets

This study analyses the performance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) during the Covid-19 with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The stock markets are considered as the indicators of the economy. The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak from China in December 2019 and became a global virus within no time. The Covid has affected the economies negatively, although the level remained different in different economies. The financial sectors of the developed markets also got affected by the Covid pandemic as it has affected the global  economies. In this study, Foreign Direct Investment is taken as the control variable to analyze the performance of PSX during covid-19. The Covid-19 positive cases are taken as a proxy for the Covid-19 data set. The sample data on weekly basis for stock prices in the Year 2020. The results indicate the Covid-19 has negatively affected the PSX, while FDI has a positive impact on the PSX performance.  &nbsp

N-(4-Nitro­phen­yl)cinnamamide

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C15H12N2O3, the dihedral angle between the rings is 3.04 (8)°. The central NOC3 fragment is planar [maximum deviation = 0.005 (3) Å] and is oriented at dihedral angles of 8.23 (8) and 7.29 (9)° with respect to the phenyl and nitro­phenyl rings, respectively. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O inter­actions link the mol­ecules into a two-dimensional network. π–π contacts between rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.719 (1) Å] may further stabilize the structure

Stock Price Synchronicity and Voluntary Disclosure in Perspective of Pakistan

This study investigates the relationship between stock price synchronicity and voluntary disclosure in perspective of Pakistan. The degree of co-movement of stock price depends on the relative amount of firm-level and the wide market information. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the degrees of firm’s information which is measured by voluntary disclosure levels and how much this firm-specific information is incorporated in the stock price, measured by synchronicity. We use 5-year data from Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period of 2010 to 2014 for KSE 100 index. We use SD-SCORE to measure the level of voluntary disclosure. SD-SCORE is calculated based on the information provided in firm’s annual reports. We assign points to each company based on five broad criteria. Additional points were given if firm provides quantitative data of some specific item used in the calculation of SD-SCORE. Further, R2 is used as a proxy of synchronicity which shows the level of information impounded into share prices. We regress synchronicity on voluntary disclosure level to find out whether it incorporates in share price or not. We conclude that in Pakistan, voluntary disclosure has a significant positive relation with stock price synchronicity. Our results suggest that not only public but also the private information incorporate in the stock price and provide inversely U-shape relationship between synchronicity and voluntary disclosure. The results of this study are based on multi-variant analysis, there is a significant positive relation between stock price synchronicity and firm’s voluntary disclosure levels

Regeneration of Plantlets from various Explants of Tetraploid watermelon

Micropropagation of tetraploid watermelon is important to cope with high cost of seed. Seeds of tetraploid watermelon were grown in vitro to raise seedlings. Hypocotyl and cotyledonary explants and media supplemented with plant growth regulators (BAP and NAA) was explored for callus induction and organogenesis. Data was collected for callus, shoot and root induction. Maximum callus induction was observed at BAP 5 mgL-1 (76.66%) from cotyledon and (73.33%) from hypocotyls explant. The callus induced from different explants was sub-cultured on the shoot regeneration medium. Higher shoot induction (96.66%) was observed  from cotyledon and hypocotyl explant (76.66%) on MS + 1.0 mgL-1 BAP + 0.2 mgL-1 NAA with maximum number (6.3) of shoot per explant and average shoot length 4.5 cm. Among different types (NAA and IAA) and concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0 mgL-1) of auxins investigated for root induction, maximum frequency of rooting was observed in 0.1 mgL-1 NAA while no root formation was observed at higher levels of auxin (1.0 mgL-1). Similarly in case of number of roots per shoot maximum root (4.3) was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 0.1 mgL-1 NAA. Key Words: Regeneration, Explant, Tetraploid, Water Mello

Evaluation of seed priming on germination of Gladiolus alatus

Seed priming improves seed performance under environmental conditions. The study was designed to evaluate the effect of different priming treatments on germination behavior of Gladiolus alatus. The experiment was conducted under complete randomized design (CRD) with four replications. Seed priming was done with different concentration of potassium nitrate (KNO3) and hydropriming. All the treatments had significant effect on germination percentage, germination test in growth room, time for 50% germination and mean germination time. Results show that maximum invigoration was observed in seeds osmoprimed at lower concentrations of KNO3 and with hydropriming while minimum invigoration was observed at higher concentration of KNO3-. It was concluded that germination percentage can be increased by using lower concentrations of KNO3 and with hydropriming.Key words: Priming, hydropriming, gladiolus, germination

A Checklist of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Pakistan

The present paper provides an updated checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Pakistan. These include seven of the 21 known extant subfamilies with 101 valid ant species in 33 genera. Five species are reported for the first time from Pakistan: Cardiocondyla wroughtonii Forel, 1890; Crematogaster biroi Mayr, 1897; Ooceraea biroi (Forel, 1907); Pseudoneoponera rufipes Jerdon, 1851 and Strumigenys godeffroyi Mayr, 1866. Images to scientifically validate new faunal records from Pakistan and facilitate prompt identification are provided. Among the newly recorded species, three species viz., C. wroughtonii; O. biroi and S. godeffroyi are considered as tramp species having the cosmopolitan distribution. Notes about type localities, depositories and distribution in Pakistan are provided to each species record. The list provides a synthesis of the regional taxonomical work carried out until now and will serve as a baseline survey for future studies

Assessing the adversarial robustness of multimodal medical AI systems: insights into vulnerabilities and modality interactions

The emergence of both task-specific single-modality models and general-purpose multimodal large models presents new opportunities, but also introduces challenges, particularly regarding adversarial attacks. In high-stakes domains like healthcare, these attacks can severely undermine model reliability and their applicability in real-world scenarios, highlighting the critical need for research focused on adversarial robustness. This study investigates the behavior of multimodal models under various adversarial attack scenarios. We conducted experiments involving two modalities: images and texts. Our findings indicate that multimodal models exhibit enhanced resilience against adversarial attacks compared to their single-modality counterparts. This supports our hypothesis that the integration of multiple modalities contributes positively to the robustness of deep learning systems. The results of this research advance understanding in the fields of multimodality and adversarial robustness and suggest new avenues for future studies focused on optimizing data flow within multimodal systems

Advanced Mineral Deposit Mapping via Deep Learning and SVM Integration With Remote Sensing Imaging Data

Automating mineral delineation and rock type analysis using remote sensing imaging data is a critical application of machine learning. Traditional machine learning methods often struggle with accuracy and precise map generation. This study aims to enhance performance through a refined deep learning model. In this work, we present a deep learning pipeline to map the mineral deposits in the study area. Initially, we apply a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to a specialized mineral dataset to map mineral deposits within the study area. Subsequently, we build a hybrid model combining deep CNN layers with a support vector machine (SVM). This merger significantly improves classification accuracy from an initial 92.7% to 95.3%. In our approach, CNN layers function as feature extractors while the SVM serves as the classification model. Moreover, we conduct an evaluation of the SVM using polynomial kernels of degrees 3, 6, 9, and 12. The results indicate that the SVM with a degree of 12 achieved the highest classification accuracy, followed by degrees 9, 6, and 3. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method for classifying remote sensing imaging data, showcasing its potential for advancing mineral delineation and rock type analysis

Pulmonary Embolism in COVID-19 Patients: Facts and Figures

COVID-19 infection affects many systems in the body including the coagulation mechanisms. Imbalance between pro-coagulant and anticoagulant activities causes a roughly nine times higher risk for pulmonary embolism (PE) in COVID-19 patients. The reported incidence of PE in COVID-19 patients ranges from 3 to 26%. There is an increased risk of PE in hospitalized patients with lower mobility and patients requiring intensive care therapy. Obesity, atrial fibrillation, raised pro-inflammatory markers, and convalescent plasma therapy increases the risk of PE in COVID-19 patients. Endothelial injury in COVID-19 patients causes loss of vasodilatory, anti-adhesion and fibrinolytic properties. Viral penetration and load leads to the release of cytokines and von Willebrand factor, which induces thrombosis in small and medium vessels. D-dimers elevation gives strong suspicion of PE in COVID-19 patients, and normal D-dimer levels effectively rule it out. Point of care echocardiogram may show right heart dilatation, thrombus in heart or pulmonary arteries. DVT increases the risk of developing PE. The gold standard test for the diagnosis of PE is CTPA (computerized tomographic pulmonary angiography) which also gives alternative diagnosis in the absence of PE. Therapeutic anticoagulation is the corner stone in the management of PE and commonly used anticoagulants are LMWH (low molecular weight heparin) and UFH (unfractionated heparin). Mortality in COVID-19 patients with PE is up to 43% compared to COVID patients without PE being around 3%