A space efficient flexible pivot selection approach to evaluate determinant and inverse of a matrix

This paper presents new approaches for finding the determinant and inverse of a matrix. The choice of pivot selection is kept arbitrary and can be made according to the users need. So the ill conditioned matrices can be handled easily. The algorithms are more efficient as they save unnecessary data storage by reducing the order of the matrix after each iteration in the computation of determinant and incorporating dictionary notation (Chvatal, 1983) in the computation of inverse matrix. These algorithms are highly class room oriented and unlike the matrix inversion method (Khan, Shah, & Ahmad, 2010) the presented algorithm does not need any kind of permutations or inverse permutations

Tree size comparison of some important street trees growing at different sites of Karachi City, Pakistan

The importance of trees in urban environment is now widely recognized as they cleanse the particulate air pollution and help to make cities and towns more agreeable places to dwell upon. A detailed survey was conducted to study the size of Alstonia scholaris, Azadirachta indica, Bombax ceiba, Cassia fistula, Eucalyptus sp., Ficus benghalensis, Ficus religiosa and Guaiacum officinale trees in the urban environment of Karachi, Pakistan. Results showed a wide range of variation in tree diameter breast height (17.12-65.50 cm) at M. A. Jinnah Road, University Road (near Hassan Square), North Nazimabad and Karachi University Campus, respectively. A. indica, Eucalyptus sp., and F. benghalensis showed less dbh (tree diameter breast height) at M. A. Jinnah Road as compared to University Road (near Hassan Square), North Nazimabad and Karachi University Campus, respectively. G. officinale growing at University Road (near Hassan Square) showed  ess tree dbh as compared to M. A. Jinnah Road and Karachi University campus. Similarly, the tree size of B. ceiba and A. scholaris was recorded less at Nazimabad as compared to M. A. Jinnah Road, University Road (near Hassan Square) and Karachi University Campus, respectively. C. fistula growing at North Nazimabad site showed low tree dbh as compared to University Road (near Hassan Square) site. A. scholaris growing at Karachi University Campus site showed highest dbh value as compared to all studied sites. The tree size of G. officinale was recorded highest at M. A. Jinnah Road as compared to North Nazimabad, University Road (near Hassan Square) and Karachi University Campus, respectively. Whereas, Eucalyptus sp. and F. benghalensis recorded highest dbh at North Nazimabad site as compared to M. A. Jinnah Road, University Road (near Hassan Square) and Karachi University Campus, respectively. More research is needed on these trees for healthy environment of city. The present study recommends for the complete documentation of tree species growing in city. Such information will be useful to identify characteristics that can be used to select tree species that are better suited for planting on other areas of the city. These findings can be helpful for arboriculturists, environmental scientists and town planners when working on plantation in the selected area.Keywords: Circumference, diameter at breast height, size, roadside tree, urban environment, Pakista

Unemployment: A Missing Link

Developing countries like Pakistan face a host of economic problems in the form of stagnant exports, low economic growth, inadequate private investment, and inefficient utilization of foreign direct investment. Given these problems, we have examined macroeconomic factors impact on unemployment in Pakistan from 1967 to 2018. We also tested the proposed hypotheses through “VAR, fully modified least squares, and Granger causality tests.†Our results suggest that exports did not stimulate jobs in Pakistan. Perhaps, Pakistan needs to diversify its exports by focusing on non-conventional value-added goods. The results also indicate that although FDI and government expenditures have created jobs, they are below expectations. Although we found that private investment has helped job creation, the effect is small compared to other developing countries. Furthermore, we find that macroeconomic factors have had little impact on unemployment in the long run

Clinical Presentation of Alzheimer Disease (ad): a hospital based observational study.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative illness that mani-fests itself clinically and pathologically.Objective: To identify the various patterns of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in adults.Methodology: A hospital based observational study was conducted in the Depart-ment of Neurology Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Karachi, Pakistan from May 2018 to November 2019.Cases with complaint of memory impairment and/or cognitive impairment, with or without behavioral changes were included in the study. Acute delirious state uremia / hepatic encephalopathy hypo / hypergly-cemia and hypo / hypernatremia were excluded diagnosis. The main outcome measures were clinical patterns of AD with age and sex distribution, affective disor-der with cognitive impairment (Pseudo dementia) and affective disorder without cognitive impairment.Results: A sample of 51 cases (36 males and 15 females) with memory impairment was included. Age’s between 25-85years (mean 57years). Out of 51 cases 44 had probable /possible Alzheimer’s disease (AD) 03 had affective disorder with cogni-tive impairment (pseudo dementia), 04 patients had affective disorder without cognitive impairment. Among probable / possible cases of AD 23 (52.27%) had multi infarct dementia (having history of past cerebrovascular disease), same sta-tistics among Parkinson’s patient’s i.e. diagnosis was Parkinson’s disease with memory impairment were 18 (40.90%) followed by alcoholic dementia in 03 (6.8%). There was no definite Alzheimer’s disease case in this study.Conclusion: Vascular dementia not the definite Alzheimer’s disease is the com-monest memory impairment type presentation in our study. Among Parkinson’s disease patient’s dementia was found quite high in our study.Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Vascular dementia (MID), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Cognition, Memory

Analysis of genetic diversity in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Genetic diversity of seven chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars of Pakistani origin was analyzed by using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, an extremely effective method to determine the variations among the chickpea cultivars. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions were optimized for RAPD and the conditions which gave the optimized results were selected for further amplifications. Using nine random decamers for seven genotypes of chickpea, 63 bands were amplified. Out of 63 bands, 50 were polymorphic in all the seven chickpea cultivars. The numbers of RAPD fragments generated per primer ranged from 3 to 11. However, majority of the primers amplified 7 to 11 fragments. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficients ranged from 0.333 to 0.651. Maximum similarity (65.1%) was observed between PK G-3 and PK G-4 and the lowest similarity (33.3%) was observed between PK G-3 and PK G-7. A dendrogram was constructed by using the unweighted pair group arithmetic mean arrangement (UPGMA) that was based on similarity coefficients. Seven chickpea cultivars were clustered in two distinct groups of which two cultivars (PK G-6 and PK G-7) stood separately in the dendrogram. The results from this study may be useful to maximize the selection of diverse parent cultivars and to broaden the germplasm base in the future for chickpea breeding programs. The information generated from this study can also be used in identifying efficient strategies for the sustainable management of the genetic resources of chickpea crop.Keywords: Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), chickpea cultivars, genetic diversit

Frequency of Depression Among Patients With Parkinson Disease

Background and Objective: Parkinson\u27s disease is a degenerative neurological condition that affects a large number of individuals worldwide. One of the common non-motor symptoms associated with this disease is depression, which can pose challenges for both patients and their caregivers. The main objective of this research was to determine the frequency of depression among patients with Parkinson disease. Methods:This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, between March 26, 2022, and September 30, 2022. Male and female patients diagnosed with Parkinson\u27s disease according to the UK Parkinson\u27s Disease Society Brain Bank Clinical Diagnostic Criteria, who were receiving either outpatient or inpatient care at two medical facilities, Neuro Clinic and Falij care center, Karachi and Darul Sehat Hospital, Karachi, were evaluated for depression using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The collected data were analyzed statistically, using the SPSS version. Results:According to the results of the study, 100 Parkinson\u27s disease patients were included, out of which 81 individuals were identified as experiencing depression while the rest showed no signs of depression. Among those suffering from depression, 35 individuals were found to have mild depression, 52 had moderate depression, and 13 individuals had severe depression. Conclusion:The study concluded that depression is a common non-motor symptom among Parkinson\u27s disease patients, with a substantial number of patients having mild to moderate depression

Convergent synthesis of new N -substituted 2-{[5-(1H -indol-3-ylmethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]sulfanyl}acetamides as suitable therapeutic agents

A series of N-substituted 2-{[5-(1H-indol-3-ylmethyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]sulfanyl}acetamides (8a-w) was synthesized in three steps. The first step involved the sequential conversion of 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)acetic acid (1) to ester (2) followed by hydrazide (3) formation and finally cyclization in the presence of CS2 and alcoholic KOH yielded 5-(1H-indole-3-yl-methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol (4). In the second step, aryl/aralkyl amines (5a-w) were reacted with 2-bromoacetyl bromide (6) in basic medium to yield 2-bromo-N-substituted acetamides (7a-w). In the third step, these electrophiles (7a-w) were reacted with 4 to afford the target compounds (8a-w). Structural elucidation of all the synthesized derivatives was done by 1H-NMR, IR and EI-MS spectral techniques. Moreover, they were screened for antibacterial and hemolytic activity. Enzyme inhibition activity was well supported by molecular docking results, for example, compound 8q exhibited better inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase, while 8g and 8b exhibited comparatively better inhibition against butyrylcholinesterase and lipoxygenase, respectively. Similarly, compounds 8b and 8c showed very good antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, which was very close to that of ciprofloxacin, a standard antibiotic used in this study. 8c and 8l also showed very good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus as well. Almost all compounds showed very slight hemolytic activity, where 8p exhibited the least. Therefore, the molecules synthesized may have utility as suitable therapeutic agents.Uma série de acetamidas 2-{[5-(1H-indol-3-ilmetil)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-il]sulfanila} N-substituídas (8a-w) foi sintetizada em três fases. A primeira etapa envolveu a conversão sequencial de ácido 2-(1H-indol-3-il)acético (1) a éster (2), seguido por hidrazida (3) e, finalmente, a e ciclização na presença de CS2 e KOH alcoólico produziu 5-(1H-indol-3-il- metil)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-tiol (4). Na segunda etapa, aminas arílicas/aralquílicas(5a-w) reagiram com brometo de 2-bromoacetila (6​​), em meio básico, para se obter acetamidas 2-bromo-N-substituídas (7a-w). Na terceira etapa, estes eletrófilos (7a- w) reagiram com 4, para se obter os compostos alvo (8a-w). A elucidação estrutural de todos os derivados sintetizados foi realizada por 1H-NMR, IR e técnicas de espectrometria de EI-MS. Além disso, eles foram submetidos a triagem de atividade antibacteriana e hemolítica. Análise da inibição enzimática foi bem apoiada pelos resultados de docking molecular. Por exemplo, o composto 8q exibiu melhor potencial inibitório contra α-glicosidase, e os compostos 8g e 8b exibiram, comparativamente, melhor inibição contra butirilcolinesterase (BChE) elipoxigenase (LOX), respectivamente. Do mesmo modo os compostos 8b e 8c mostraram excelente potencial antibacteriano contra SalmonellaTyphi, semelhante ao do ciprofloxacino, antibiótico padrão usado neste estudo. Os compostos 8c e 8l também mostraram excelente potencial antibacteriano contra Staphylococcus aureus . Quase todos os compostos mostraram pequena atividade hemolítica, sendo que o composto 8p apresentou menor atividade. Assim, as moléculas sintetizadas podem ter a sua utilidade como agentes terapêuticos adequados

Phytochemical screening, free radical scavenging, antioxidant activity and phenolic content of Dodonaea viscosa

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant potential of Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. Methanolic extract of the plant was dissolved in distilled water and partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and nbutanol sequentially. Phytochemical screening showed presence of phenolics, flavonoides and cardiac glycosides in large amount in chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fraction. The antioxidant potential of all these fractions and remaining aqueous fraction was evaluated by four methods: 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, total antioxidant activity, Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay and ferric thiocyanate assay along with determination of their total phenolics. The results revealed that ethyl acetate soluble fraction exhibited highest percent inhibition of DPPH radical as compared to other fractions. It showed 81.14 ± 1.38% inhibition of DPPH radical at a concentration of 60 μg/ml. The IC50 of this fraction was found to be 33.95 ± 0.58 μg/ml, relative to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), having IC50 of 12.54 ± 0.89 μg/mL. It also showed highest FRAP value (380.53 ± 0.74 μM of trolox equivalents) as well as highest total phenolic contents (208.58 ± 1.83 GAE μg/g) and highest value of inhibition of lipid peroxidation (58.11 ± 1.49% at concentration of 500 μg/ml) as compared to the other studied fractions. The chloroform fraction showed highest total antioxidant activity i.e.1.078 ± 0.59 (eq. to BHT)

CEO Compensation and Bank Performance

This study sets out to discover the determinants of compensation of the chief executive officers in the banking industry of Pakistan. Accounting based performance measures and size of the firm have been used as predictors. Results of the study are consistent with arguments, suggesting significant and positive impact of size (assets) of the firm on CEO compensation while no association is found with either of the performance measure of the firm except income before tax (IBT). Return on Assets and Return on Equity failed to explain the given phenomenon. The study further elaborates that number of employees (NOEMP) greatly influences on CEO compensation but negatively. This relationship may be due to the unique characteristics of Pakistan's social and economic structure

The Causality between Equity Market Development and Economic Growth: An Egg and Chicken Problem?

The motivation behind this study is to empirically examine the casual relationship between the equity market development and GDP growth in twenty six emerging market economies over the period of 1995 to 2012.To obtain the reliable results, different econometrical techniques were used; Correlation analysis to know the causality among the equity market development (Independent variables) and real GDP growth rate (dependent variable) and to solve the multicollinearity problem. To check the stationary properties and solve the endogeneity problem, unit root ADF - fisher chi-square test and panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach were employed. It was found that significant and positive supply leading hypothesis, uni-directional relationship between equity market development and real GDP growth. Beside the macro-economic variables FDI- foreign direct investment (inflows) and trade openness have significant positive while investment ratio, exchange rate and inflation showed negative and insignificant impact on economic growt