Would you mind your language, please? Consumer incivility on social media platforms

Consumer incivility on social media platforms has recently gained the attention of academic researchers. However, few studies have presented the role that consumer incivility plays in forming social media perspectives (e.g. experiencing uncivil comments or rude replies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). Using the stimulus-organism-response theory, this study investigated the impacts of consumer incivility on social media brand representatives’ efforts to deal with it, social media brand community participation and social media brand trust. The study also investigated the influence of social media brand representatives’ efforts to deal with consumer incivility on social media brand community participation and examined the relationships of these two factors with social media brand trust. Two hundred and forty social media consumers who had witnessed the effect of consumer incivility on social media community platforms completed the study questionnaires. SPSS 23 and SmartPLS-SEM (v. 3.3.7) were used to analyse the data obtained and to test the hypotheses. The results revealed that consumer incivility was significantly inversely associated with the causal constructs. The present study provided novel insights for high-tech social media industries, including digital marketers and community developers

Elucidation of physico-chemical characteristics and mycoflora of bovine milk available in selected area of Karachi, Pakistan.

ISO 14000 has opened the field for enhancing the awareness towards healthy environment and gives the ideology of regular assessment of threshold values not only of nutrients but contaminants as well. Under this statement microbiological studies in terms of mycoflora followed by physical characteristics and level of some essential elements Mg, Fe, Cu and Zn, and deleterious metal Cd were analyzed in fresh milk samples (FMS) and tetra pack milk or UHT processed milk samples (PMS) available in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Karachi for the residents. Samples were collected in the morning time during winter season. Physical parameters like pH, conductivity, density, viscosity, surface tension and refractive index were observed very soon after sample collection. Percentage of ash and total dissolved solids (TDS) were also measured. For fungal flora studies PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) and Sabourouds Agar were used for the fungal growth. The concentrations of metals considered were estimated after wet digestion of samples using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The ranges of average concentration of Mg, Fe, Cu and Zn were found to be 77.120 – 141.915mg/l, 0.580 – 7.320mg/l, 0.004 – 0.070mg/l and 2.574 – 4.872mg/l. The level of Cd was estimated in the samples between 0.0050 – 0.053mg/l, but was not observed in most of the samples. Among the fungi, the highest diversity was that of Aspergillus spp. that produces aflatoxins. ©JASEMKey words: physical characteristics, essential elements, toxic elements, fungal specie

Field Investigation on the Prevalence of Trypanosomiasis in Camels in Relation to Sex, Age, Breed and Herd Size

Blood samples were collected from 240 camels (183 male and 57 female) of four breeds from six districts of Sindh. An overall infection was determined as 11.25%. Species of Trypanosoma was identified as Trypanosoma evansi. District wise infection was found to be 2.5, 7.5, 12.5, 15.00, 22.5 and 7.5% in Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot, Badin, Thatta and Larkana, respectively. A higher infection was found in females (15.79%) as compared to males (9.84%). Highest (14.96%) infection was noted in age group >7 years, followed by 8.57 and 4.65% in 3 to 7 years and less than to 3 years old camels, respectively. Four breeds of camels were surveyed and the highest infection rate was found in Sakrai breed (21.82%), followed by 16.67, 6.15 and 5.95% in Kharai, Sindhi and Dhati breeds respectively. When herd size was considered, infection rate was 1.67, 6.67, 15.00 and 21.67% in herds possessing 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 20 and more than 20 animals, respectively

Prognostic indicators of childhood acute viral encephalitis

Objective: To devise a set of clinical signs and laboratory parameters that would help clinicians assess prognosis in patients and plan appropriate management.Methods: Medical records of 147 paediatric cases (with a discharge diagnosis of acute viral encephalitis) admitted over a ten year period from 1987 to 1997 were reviewed and relevant information collected on a data extraction form.Results: Of 147 patients, 24 (16.3%) died and 48 (32.7%) were left with severe neurological deficits. A GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) score between 6-10 had an association with poor outcome (OR = 2.62, Chi-square = 5.57, p-value = 0.018) and that a GCS score of \u3e or = 5 was even more strongly suggestive of poor outcome (OR = 5.49, Chi-square = 12.08, p-value = 0.0005). A history of having seizures, for more than 3 days, also showed a strong association with poor outcome (OR = 3.66, Chi-square = 5.46, p-value = 0.019).CONCLUSION: Patients with an increased risk of death and severe disability can be identified using a few guidelines. Of these, a history of seizures of \u3e 3 days and/or impaired consciousness (GCS \u3c or = 10), at the time of presentation to the hospital, constitute high risk. These cases must be identified promptly and aggressive therapy initiated in order to improve long term outcome

Clinical scoring system: a valuable tool for decision making in cases of acute appendicitis

Objective: Decision making in cases of acute appendicitis poses a clinical challenge specially in developing countries where advanced radiological investigations do not appear cost effective and so clinical parameters remain the mainstay of diagnosis. The aim of our study was to devise a scoring system from our local database and test its accuracy in the preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis.Methods: Clinical data from 401 patients having undergone appendectomy were collected to identify predictive factors that distinguished those with appendicitis from those who had a negative appendectomy. Ten such factors were identified and using Bayesian probability a weight was assigned to each and the results summated to get an overall score. A cut-off point was identified to separate patients for surgery and those for observation. The scoring system was then retrospectively applied to a second population of 99 patients in order to compare suggested actions (derived from the scoring system) to those actually taken by surgeons. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the level of decision was then calculated.Results: Of the 99 patients, the method suggested immediate surgery for 65 patients, 63 of whom had acute appendicitis (3.1% diagnostic error rate). Of the 33 patients in whom the score suggested active observation, 18 had appendicitis. The accuracy of our scoring system was 82%. The method had a sensitivity of 78%, specificity 89% and a positive predictive value of 97%. The negative appendectomy rate determined by our study was 7% and the perforation rate 13%.CONCLUSION: Scoring system developed from a local database can work effectively in routine practice as an adjunct to surgical decision making in questionable cases of appendicitis

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL QUALITY OF MARKET MILK SOLD AT TANDOJAM, PAKISTAN

The present study was conducted to evaluate the quality of milk sold at Tandojam, Pakistan. A total of 125 milk samples (25 samples from each source) collected from five milk marketing agencies viz direct seller (DS), milk collection center(MCC), milk vendor shop (MVS), hotel (HT) and buffalo dairy farm (DF), which served as control. Acidity of milk obtained from DS, MCC, MVS and HT averaged 0.13, 0.15, 0.12 and 0.13, respectively compared to 0.14 for DF milk. The pH values of milk from MVS (6.54) and HT (6.53) were significantly different (P<0.01) from DS (6.65) and MCC (6.66) and relatively similar (P>0.05) to that of DF milk i.e. 6.65. Viscosity, specific gravity and freezing point of milk procured from DS (1.48, 1.026 and –0.460, respectively), MCC (1.58, 1.026 and –0.470, respectively), MVS (1.34, 1.026 and –0.440, respectively) and HT (1.46, 1.027 and –0.480, respectively) were significantly (P<0.001) lower than DF milk (1.86, 1.031 and -0.551, respectively). Chemical quality of milk procured from DS, MCC, MVS and HT compared to DF milk (control) averaged 13.45, 14.18, 13.19 and 14.06% vs. 16.30% for TS content, 8.25, 8.81, 8.06 and 8.51% vs. 9.79% for SNF content, 5.20, 5.41, 5.13 and 5.54% vs. 6.51% for fat content, 3.85, 3.96, 3.91 and 4.23% vs. 4.35% for protein content, 2.70, 2.77, 2.56 and 3.20% vs. 3.56% for casein content, 3.65, 4.03, 3.34 and 3.52% vs. 4.53% for lactose content and 0.75, 0.78, 0.74 and 0.76% vs. 0.91% for ash content, respectively. All the attributes of chemical quality of milk supplied through four agencies were significantly lower (P<0.05) than DF milk

A Survey on the Criteria for Measuring the Profitability of a Construction Organization

Any organization’s performance depends on profitability which depends on several adopted criteria. The preference and level of adoption of these criteria varies, on different industries. This study focuses on investigating the criteria of profitability in the construction industry. This investigation involves a survey to seek the perception of the contractors involved in handling physical activities of construction works. The survey considered 63 questionnaire forms. Statistical analysis was performed to compute the frequency and the relative importance index. The results indicated that structural capital, lifetime values, capital structure and competitor actions are the top 4 criteria implemented in construction organizations to measure profitability

Dynamics of A Polluted Tidal Estuary, Gizri Creek During South West Monsoon

Abstract: A 25 hours study was conducted in a polluted Estuary, Gizri Creek in order to investigate how current speed, salinity and water temperature stratification behaves under the influence of a polluted freshwater source. Vertically lunar hourly profiles of salinity, water temperature and current speed were obtained and the results indicate that the estuary is forced by semi-diurnal tides. The profiles of current intensity indicates that the flood currents slightly higher than the ebb ones, with maximum values of about 33.45 and 31.51 cms-1, respectively. The major flooding velocity was enhanced by the strong tidal currents. The lunar hourly variations of salinity and water temperature reveal that during the ebb, the vertical stratification increases, decreasing during the flood period. The salinity ranges between 28 and 41 ppt (parts per thousand) and the water temperature between 30.2 and 33.7 ºC. At surface and near the bed the salinity and water temperature increases during the flood periods, decreasing during the ebb. From the 25 hours observation of water column stratification or salinity vertical structure on the basi

Immunohistochemical localization of low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 and α2-Macroglobulin in retinal and choroidal tissue of proliferative retinopathies

The immunolocalization of the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) and its ligand α 2-Macroglobulin (α2M) was examined in tissues from human donor eyes of normal, diabetic and sickle cell disease subjects. Streptavidin alkaline phosphatase immunohistochemistry was performed with a mouse anti-human LRP1 and rabbit anti-human α2M antibodies. Retinal and choroidal blood vessels were labeled with mouse anti-human CD34 antibody in adjacent tissue sections. Mean scores for immunostaining from the pathological and control eyes were statistically compared.LRP1 immunoreactivity was very weak to negative in the neural retina of normal subjects except in scattered astrocytes. LRP1 expression in diabetic eyes was detected in the internal limiting membrane (ILM), astrocytes, inner photoreceptor matrix, choriocapillaris and choroidal stroma. The ligand α2M, however, was limited mainly to blood vessel walls, some areas of the inner nuclear layer (INL), photoreceptors, RPE-Bruch's membrane-choriocapillaris complex, intercapillary septa, and choroidal stroma. In sickle cell eyes, avascular and vascular retina as well as choroidal neovascularization (CNV) were analyzed. In avascular areas, LRP1 immunoreactivity was in innermost retina (presumably ILM, astrocytes, and Muller cells) and INL as well as RPE-Bruch's membrane-choriocapillaris complex and choroidal stroma α2M was very weak in avascular peripheral retina compared to vascularized areas and limited to stroma in choroid. In contrast, in areas with CNV, LRP1 immunoreactivity was significantly decreased in overlying retina and in RPE-Bruch's membrane and choroidal stroma compared to the controls, while α2M was elevated in RPE-Bruch's membrane near CNV compared to normal areas in sickle cell choroid. The mean scores revealed that LRP1 and α2M in neural retina were significantly elevated in astrocytes and ILM in diabetic eyes (p ≤ 0.05), whereas in sickle cell eyes scores were elevated in ILM and INL (p ≤ 0.05). In addition, α2M immunoreactivity was in photoreceptors in both ischemic retinopathies. In choroid, the patterns of LRP1 and α2M expression were different and not coincident.This is the first demonstration of the presence of LRP1 and α2M in human proliferative retinopathies. Elevated LRP1 expression in sickle cell neural retina and diabetic inner retina and choroid suggests that LRP1 plays an important role in ischemic neovascular diseases. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.Fil: Barcelona, Pablo Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Luna, J. D.. Fundación VER. Departamento de Oftalmología; ArgentinaFil: Chiabrando, Gustavo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Juarez, P. C.. Fundación VER. Departamento de Oftalmología; ArgentinaFil: Bhutto IA. University Johns Hopkins; Estados UnidosFil: McLeod, D. S.. University Johns Hopkins; Estados UnidosFil: Sanchez, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Lutty, G. A.. University Johns Hopkins; Estados Unido

Effectiveness of EPS Bead Size and Cement Proportions on the Strength and Deformation of Light-Weighted Soil

The current study investigates the deformation and strength of Light-Weighted Soil (LWS) comprised of silt, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) beads, cement, and water. The EPS bead sizes employed in this study are 4, 5, and 6mm in diameter with densities of 0.011, 0.009, and 0.006g/cm3 and cement concentrations of 10% and 15%. The effects of different EPS bead sizes and cement proportions on the mechanical properties (strength and deformation) of LWS are evaluated by Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS) tests. The findings show that the EPS bead sizes significantly impact the strength and deformations of the LWS. The smaller the EPS bead size, the higher the observed strength, but, on the other hand, bigger EPS bead sizes have lower strength and higher ductility. It was also revealed that the strength of LSW is entirely dependent on the cement concentration. High cement content in the LWS has more strength and brittleness, but it is more prone to deformation. The cost can be decreased by increasing the EPS bead size, and thus the prescription of mixed soil can be enhanced. The use of EPS beads with a diameter of 4-6mm is recommended in the construction process, especially in backfill for retaining walls. Each EPS bead size provides advantages in different context, depending on engineering applications and field conditions