The Magnitude of Market Power between SCBs and SBUs: the Root Cause of Stagnancy of the Growth in Islamic Banking Industry and Spin-off Policy as its Solution

This research aims to explore the magnitude of market power’s effect on the two types of Islamic banks consisting of Sharia Commercial Banks (SCBs) and Sharia Business Units (SBUs) and analyze the spin-off policy. Time-series data, obtained from the banks’ monthly financial statements, were used, and  the Lerner index under the level of price and cost was utilized. Independent samples t-test and correlation test were employed as additional tests to analyze data.  The starting point of the finding discloses that the mean difference of market power on two types of Islamic banking is significant. It indicates that the type of Islamic banks in Indonesia creates a disparity in the market power between SCBs and SBUs where SCBs show low power, otherwise SBUs is in high power value. A high-power magnitude gained by SBUs continues to be absorbed by the conventional bank as its parents. This process leads the growth of conventional banks to increase greater in the banking industry, while the growth of Islamic banks is stagnant. The additional finding discloses that when the SBU undertakes the spin-off, Islamic banking in Indonesia tends to capture a greater power in the national banking industry

Accession in Centella asiatica; Current Understanding and Future Knowledge

Centella asiatica is described as a potential cure-all because of its wide usage. The accessions in Centella asiatica make standardisation important before using it. In Malaysia alone, there are more than 15 accessions of Centella asiatica with each having variation in their secondary metabolites. There are several reports from India to Korea, from Madagascar to Malaysia and from Thailand to South Africa about variations in chemical profiling of secondary metabolites and the reasons for these variations in Centella asiatica. Despite all these reports, there has been no attempt to bring all these variations together and discuss them under one heading resulting into scattered information about accession in Centella asiatica. In this review, we discuss the impact of accessions in Centella asiatica and what more need to be done to our knowledge of accession in Centella asiatica

STUDY OF QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS IN ORIENTAL TOBACCO GENOTYPES

Ten genotypes of oriental tobacco (three varieties and sevennewly created lines) were investigated for some major morphologicaland agronomic traits: height of the plant without inflorescence, leafnumber per plant, length/width of the middle belt leaves and dry massyield/plant. The trial was set up in the Experimental field of TobaccoInstitute–Prilep in 2016 and 2017, in randomized block design with fourreplications, using traditional agricultural practices. Measurements ofthe first three traits were made in the stage of butonization andbeginning of flowering, while the dry mass yield was recorded duringthe treatment of cured tobacco. The results were statistically processed.The aim of the research is to study the quantitative traits of Orientalgenotypes, to determine the stability of the population through theirvariability and to emphasize the best among the selected assortment.From the set of genotypes we selected three superior lines with a highdegree of homogeneity. The coefficient of variation of quantitative traitsin these lines was lower than 10%, which is a sign of their stability. Aftertheir acceptance by the Commission for recognition and approval ofvarieties within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and WaterEconomy of R. Macedonia, these genotypes will be placed on the market

Comparative Aspects of the Temporal Characteristics of the Production of Various Plastic Products

Plastic has a special place in the manufacture of various products. Production of plastic products consists of several stages. Each stage has its own time characteristics. Thus, the duration of the production of plastic parts depends on the individual stages. A comparative analysis of the time aspects of the formation of various plastic products showed that the duration of the molding process is affected by the holding time under pressure, the time of pauses

Operation of Circuit Breakers: Data and Analysis

[EN] An attempt has been made for the analysis on Circuit breakers (CBs) this paper. First, the types and arcing phenomenon of Oil and SF6 Circuit breakers were briefly discussed. However, various CBs were analyzed in terms of certain outage frequencies and reliability indices to ascertain the most reliable CB. This was possible using data collected from the 33kV Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) New Haven, Enugu. After the analysis, Emene Industrial CB had the highest value of availability of 0.9999 and the lowest tripping report while Ezillo had the highest failure rate of 0.1032.The authors are immensely grateful for the financial support from “African Centre of Excellence (ACE-SPED) University of Nigeria, Nsukka” to enable us to achieve the research (Muncho J. Mbunwe et al., 2019-2021).Madueme, VC.; Mbunwe, MJ.; Madueme, TC.; Ahmad, MA.; Anghel Drugarin, CV. (2021). Operation of Circuit Breakers: Data and Analysis. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 8(2):60-73. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2021.12406OJS607382Anyaka, B.O. (2012). Reliability and Maintainability of Power System [Lecture Note]. http://engineering.unn.edu.ngCircuit globe, (n.d.). Circuit breaker, Retrieved June 10, 2017, from open source:- http://circuitglobe.com/circuit-breaker.htmlElectrical concepts, Circuit breaker and Arc Phenomenon, (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2017, from open source: http://electricalbaba.com/circuit-breaker-and-arc-phenomenon/Electrical Systems, (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2017, from open source: http://skm-eleksys.com/2012/02/sf6-circuit-breaker-working.htmlKezunovic, M. Ren, Z. Latisko, G. Sevcik, D.R. Lucey, J.S. Cook, W.E. and Koch, E.A. (2005). Automated Monitoring and Analysis of Circuit Breaker Operation, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 20(3), p. 1910. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRD.2005.848466Pinnekamp, F. (2007). The circuit breaker: a showcase of industrial product development, Transmission group R&D and technology, ABB, Switzerland, p.31. https://new.abb.com/docs/default-source/technology/brosch%C3%BCre-chchrc2017final-einseitig-(002).pdf?sfvrsn=e3f37d14_2Saxena, S. Singh, A. Ali, M. Gandhi, K. (2012). Various Types of Circuit Breakers used in Power System for Smooth Working of the Transmission Line, MIT International Journal of Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering, 2(2), p. 106. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/06918326da2b2ac6fd80620d88961b68554b72edSuwanasri, T. Hlaing, M.T. and Suwanasri, C. (2014). Failure Rate Analysis of Power Circuit Breaker in High Voltage Substation, GMSARN International Journal, 8(1), 1-6. http://gmsarnjournal.com/home/journal-vol/journal-vol-8-no-1/Transmission Company of Nigeria. (2016). Tripping reports April - June 2016 [Unpublished Raw data]. New Haven, Enugu, Nigeria. https://www.tcn.org.ng/page_history.phpMuncho J. Mbunwe, M. Ayaz Ahmad, Syed Khalid Mustafa. (2020). An effective energy saving design strategy to maximize the use of electricity, J. Math. Comput. Sci., 10(5), 1808-1833, https://doi.org/10.28919/jmcs/4775Mbunwe Muncho J., Ezema Ejiofor E., Ngwu Anene A., C V Anghel Drugarin, M. Rehan Ajmal, M Ayaz Ahmad. (2021). Characterization of three phase solid state VAR compensation scheme in three phase pulse width modulation voltage source inverter, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Vol. 1781, 012034, https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1781/1/012034M. Ayaz Ahmad, Irina Tvoroshenko, Jalal Hasan Baker, Vyacheslav Lyashenko. (2019). Modeling the Structure of Intellectual Means of Decision-Making Using a System Oriented NFO Approach, International Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering Research , Vol. 7(11), 460-465. https://doi.org/10.30534/ijeter/2019/107112019Mykhailo Kopot, M. Ayaz Ahmad, Vyacheslav Lyashenko, Syed Khalid Mustafa. (2020). Prospects for Creating Sub-Millimeter Magnetrons, International Journal of Advanced Trends in Computer Science and Engineering, Vol. 9(4), 6184-6188. https://doi.org/10.30534/ijatcse/2020/294942020M. Ayaz Ahmad, Irina Tvoroshenko, Jalal Hasan Baker, Vyacheslav Lyashenko. (2019). Computational Complexity of the Accessory Function Setting Mechanism in Fuzzy Intellectual Systems, International Journal of Advanced Trends in Computer Science and Engineering, Vol. 8(5), 2370-2377. https://doi.org/10.30534/ijatcse/2019/77852019Muncho J. Mbunwe, Udochukwu B. Akuru, Hilary U. Ezea, Ogbonnaya I. Okoro, M. Ayaz Ahmad. (2020). Some Aspects of Future Energy Generation in Using of Solar Power Satellites, Int. J. Anal. Appl., 18 (1), 117-128. https://doi.org/10.28924/2291-8639-18-2020-11

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices among nurses in Pakistan towards diabetic foot

Introduction: Diabetic foot ulcers are a pressing complication of diabetes mellitus. Wound care requires a significant proportion of healthcare resources. It is imperative, therefore, for healthcare professionals to possess sound knowledge of the disease along with a positive attitude to ensure better clinical practice. Our literature search revealed a scarcity of data pertaining to diabetic foot ulcers. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of nurses regarding diabetic foot care. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed, a pre-validated and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample size of 250 nurses working at two tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. The study was conducted over a period of three months (January to March 2018) and included all nurses who possessed at least one year of clinical experience in diabetic ulcer care. The statistical software employed was SPSS version 19 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, US). Non-parametric tests and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis and statistical significance was assumed at a p-value of less than 0.5. Results: Only 54% of the nurses in our study possessed adequate knowledge of diabetic foot ulcers. The mean score of knowledge was 74.9 (±9.5). Macdonald’s standard criteria for learning outcomes was used to gauge the knowledge levels of our study population. Nurses performed best in the domain of ulcer care with 65.3% of the participants possessing good knowledge of the topic. The overall attitude of nurses towards patients with diabetic ulcers was positive. Conclusion: This study highlights important gaps in nurses’ knowledge and sheds light on the lack of evidence-based practice. Poor knowledge can compromise healthcare standards, even with the presence of positive attitudes. Hence, a comprehensive revision of nursing curricula across local tertiary hospitals for allowing nurses to update their knowledge is warrante

Rising burden of Hepatitis C Virus in hemodialysis patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>High prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been reported among the dialysis patients throughout the world. No serious efforts were taken to investigate HCV in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) treatment who are at great increased risk to HCV. HCV genotypes are important in the study of epidemiology, pathogenesis and reaction to antiviral therapy. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of active HCV infection, HCV genotypes and to assess risk factors associated with HCV genotype infection in HD patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as comparing this prevalence data with past studies in Pakistan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Polymerase chain reaction was performed for HCV RNA detection and genotyping in 384 HD patients. The data obtained was compared with available past studies from Pakistan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Anti HCV antibodies were observed in 112 (29.2%), of whom 90 (80.4%) were HCV RNA positive. In rest of the anti HCV negative patients, HCV RNA was detected in 16 (5.9%) patients. The dominant HCV genotypes in HCV infected HD patients were found to be 3a (n = 36), 3b (n = 20), 1a (n = 16), 2a (n = 10), 2b (n = 2), 1b (n = 4), 4a (n = 2), untypeable (n = 10) and mixed (n = 12) genotype.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggesting that i) the prevalence of HCV does not differentiate between past and present infection and continued to be elevated ii) HD patients may be a risk for HCV due to the involvement of multiple routes of infections especially poor blood screening of transfused blood and low standard of dialysis procedures in Pakistan and iii) need to apply infection control practice.</p

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication