Liquidity and asset prices: An empirical investigation from the Nordic stock markets

This paper presents a simplified single period asset-pricing model adjusted for liquidity and tests it for the Nordic markets. The detailed empirical evidence is presented from Finnish test case. Empirical testing of small yet developed markets is motivated by the increased relevance of the illiquidity effect for illiquid assets/markets. The main evidence reports liquidity risk makes sufficiently larger part of predicted factor risk premium than the market risk, contrary to comparable US evidence. This highlights the ability of liquidity related model betas in capturing the time variation in expected returns across illiquid (Nordic) markets than market beta.peerReviewe

A Clinical Study of Newborns with Tachypnea: Frequency, Aetiologies and their Outcome

Aims & Objectives: To estimate the frequency, aetiologies and outcome of neonates admitted with Tachypnea in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) FGPC PGMI Islamabad.To identify the causes of Tachypnea in newborns, analyze outcome at present, and to plan better outcome in futureMaterials & Methods: A prospective study was conducted at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital PGMI from 1st June 2016 till 31st July 2017.Data were collected from all patients enrolled in the study during this period. Aim of our study is to identify the causes of Tachypnea in newborns, analyze outcome at present, and to plan better outcome in future.Results: Total 826 neonates were admitted, of which 248 were enrolled in the study. The frequency of tacyopnea was found to be 29.9%.The commonest causes of Tachypnea in our study were Respiratory distress syndrome 82 cases (33.1%), Transient Tachypnea of newborn 71 cases (28.6%) , Meconium Aspiration syndrome 31 cases (12.5%), Congenital heart disease 17 cases (6.8%).Cesearean section was the most common predisposing factor associated with development of  RDS & TTN( the two most common causes of respiratory distress in our study) 146 (58.9%) cases. The mortality rate of tacyopnea in our study was 103 cases (41.5%).Conclusion: Tachypnea is one of the most common problems encountered in neonatal ICUs of which RDS, TTN, MAS and CHD are the common ones. Prematurity, low birth weight neonates and neonates born via Cesearean section show a poorer outcome, needing advanced respiratory support and longer duration of hospital stay. Thus, timely decisions regarding the mode of delivery, prevention of preterm deliveries, and appropriate management of Tacyopnea may reduce neonatal mortality

Specification errors of asset-pricing models for a market characterized by few large capitalization firms

The evaluation for the specification errors of asset-pricing models is conducted using numerous characteristic portfolios for the Finnish stock market. The selection of the market is motivated by the atypical setting wherein few firms dominate the total market capitalization and small numbers of stocks are listed. We report diverging risk-returns trade-offs for the average tendencies of the stocks and for the actual growth in the invested stocks. We show Carhart (1997) model produces the smallest pricing errors across all the tested specifications although with different significant risk for EW and VW test portfolios. Deviations in the significant risk factors in the asset pricing tests becomes prevalent for using a simple technique of equally weighted (EW) and value weighted (VW) test assets. We suggest more cautious analyses for markets that have peculiar features instead of generalizing to standard evidence.peerReviewe

Effect of Addition of Nebulized Magnesium Sulphate to Standard Therapy in Children with Severe Asthma

  Objective: To compare the outcome of addition of nebulized magnesium sulphate to the standard treatment in children with acute severe asthma. Methodology: The trial was undertaken at the emergency of Paediatrics Department, Federal Government Polyclinic (Post Graduate Medical Institute), Islamabad from 1st April to 30th September 2019.Children between 1 to 12 years of age with acute severe asthma were initially nebulized with salbutamol thrice and ipratropium once.All the patients were also given intravenous steroid.Those not responding to this treatment and still classified as acute severe asthma were randomly divided into two groups each having 38 patients.Each patient in Group A received 2.5 ml (150 mg) of isotonic magnesium sulphate via nebulizer, thrice20 minutes apart, while group B received 2.5 ml of isotonic saline via nebulizer, thrice20 minutes apart.Each nebulization also contained salbutamol. Yung Asthma Severity Score (ASS) was determined at the start of treatment, at30 minutes and at 60 minutes of treatment. Results: After 60 minutes, the mean Asthma Severity Score of children in group A was 6.95 ± 1.29 and 7.63 ± 1.03 in group B (p < 0.05). In group A, 18 (47.4%) children were discharged and 20 (52.6%) were admitted in the hospital. In group B, 7 (18.4%) children were discharged while 31 (81.6%) were admitted in the hospital (p < 0.05). Conclusion: It is concluded that nebulized magnesium sulphate along with salbutamol can give a better outcome than salbutamol alone in children with acute severe asthma

Designing parameterizable hardware IPs in a model-based design environment for high-level synthesis

Model-based hardware design allows one to map a single model to multiple hardware and/or software architectures, essentially eliminating one of the major limitations of manual coding in C or RTL. Model-based design for hardware implementation has traditionally offered a limited set of microarchitectures, which are typically suitable only for some application scenarios. In this article we illustrate how digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms can be modeled as flexible intellectual property blocks to be used within the popular Simulink model-based design environment. These blocks are written in C and are designed for both functional simulation and hardware implementation, including architectural design space exploration and hardware implementation through high-level synthesis. A key advantage of our modeling approach is that the very same bit-accurate model is used for simulation and high-level synthesis. To prove the feasibility of our proposed approach, we modeled a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm and synthesized it for different DSP applications with very different performance and cost requirements. We also implemented a high-level-synthesis (HLS) intellectual property (IP) generator that can generate flexible FFT HLS-IP blocks that can be mapped to multiple micro-/macroarchitectures, to enable design space exploration as well as being used for functional simulation in the Simulink environment.</jats:p

Neglected firm effect and stylized equity returns: evidence from Pakistan

The neglected stock effect is the phenomenon where less researched stock earns more return than that predicted by the traditional CAPM. The aim of this study is to reveal the bonding between neglected stock premium and equity returns in the stock market of Pakistan by using Fama and French (1992 & 1993) methodology. This study is unique with respect to Pakistan that checks the relationship among neglected stock premium and equity returns on a sample of 200 stocks listed the largest stock market of Pakistan KSE. It is corroborated that neglected firm effect is present in market and priced by the market. This manifests that those stocks which are neglected, less researched and got less analyst coverage earn higher return in comparison to popular stocks that got more analyst coverage. The results also revealed that two factor model has greater explanatory power in comparison to Traditional CAPM. The results of this study are in line with the findings of Arbel and Strebel (1980) and Bertin, Michayluk and Prather (2008) for the USA equity market. Lower research analyst coverage increases the uncertainty for investor that how the company will perform in the future, which ultimately increase the risk factor and so the demand of return from the investors. The decision makers must consider this anomaly while making decisions regarding financing, investing etc. This study will facilitate the investors in taking effective investment decision and for efficient resource allocation

Effect of Addition of Probiotics to Standard Treatment on Neonatal Jaundice

Objective: To compare the mean change in the bilirubin levels with addition of probiotics to standard treatment for the management of neonatal jaundice. Methodology: The randomized controlled trial was undertaken at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Paediatrics Department, Federal Government Polyclinic (Post Graduate Medical Institute), Islamabad from 1st April to 30th September 2019.  Neonates with hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy were randomly divided into two groups, each having 30 patients. Group A received probiotics along with phototherapy while group B received phototherapy alone. Primary outcome was serum total bilirubin, which was calculated on 0, 1 and 3 days of treatment. Duration of phototherapy and patient's outcome was also recorded. Data was analyzed statistically using SPSS v. 23. Results: The mean serum bilirubin level after 24 hours was 14.27 ± 4.35 mg/dl in combination group while 16.43 ± 4.36 mg/dl in phototherapy group (p &gt; 0.05). After 48 hours, the mean serum bilirubin level was 12.37 ± 3.33 mg/dl in combination group while 14.09 ± 3.60 mg/dl in phototherapy group (p &gt; 0.05). After 72 hours, the mean serum bilirubin level was 11.09 ± 2.87 mg/dl in combination group while 11.72 ± 2.96 mg/dl in phototherapy group (p &gt; 0.05). The mean time required of blue light phototherapy was 43.47 ± 20.71 hours in combination group while 61.53 ±28.27 hours in phototherapy group (p &lt; 0.05). All neonates were discharged. Conclusion: Addition of probiotics to standard treatment decreased the time required for the phototherapy in neonatal jaundice. However no statistically significant difference was seen in the bilirubin levels between the two groups

Structural challenges to adopt digital transformation in industrial organizations : A multiple case study

Digital Transformation requires significant changes in industrial organization’s setting to remain relevant in this fast-paced environment. This calls for modifications in their organizational structures. The existing organizational structures of industrial organizations are mechanistic, while, digital transformation needs organic and flexible organizational structure. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to identify the main challenges that industrial organizations face in the process of modifying their mechanistic structures into organic structures. To explore these challenges, we conducted multiple case study from three global industrial organizations. We interviewed 41 middle to high-level management personnel. The results of this study highlight six main challenges that industrial organizations need to cope for structural modifications. These challenges are structural rigidity, traditional hierarchy, silos, problems with resource allocations, organizational size and old-fashioned-leadership.© 2022. Published by AHFE Open Access. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Simultaneous improvement of corrosion and mechanical properties of AA 5083 aluminum alloy

In this study, the effects of cold-rolling and annealing on the structural, electrochemical, and mechanical properties of AA5083 in a simulated seawater environment are investigated. The results demonstrated that annealing temperature significantly affects the alloy's mechanical and corrosion properties. According to potentiodynamic results, the rate of corrosion decreased after annealing. Compared to the cold-rolled sample, the heat treatment doubles the electrochemical impedance, indicating that the corrosion resistance of AA5083 alloy is suitable at 50°C annealing. Approximately twice as much ductility was added to the materials as compared to the as-received materials. Additionally, the mechanical testing revealed the Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) Effect Type B band, which reflected the smaller grain size

Firm Level Determinants of Entrepreneurial Success

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to determine those factors which contribute to achieve the success at firm level. Methodology: Questionnaire technique is used to determine the performance of the firms. A structured questionnaire is employed to collect data and test the model through snow ball sampling method. Findings: The results of chi-square in all four performance dimensions suggested that these dimensions have strong impact on the performance of the firm's. Limitations and Implications: The research was conducted in particular geographical area. The findings will help managers to put more focus on the mentioned four dimensions and their related variables like innovation, technology, structure, risk, resources, investment plan etc which affect these dimensions. Findings also tell the managers about the factors which are the true determinants of entrepreneurial success at firm level. The fore most limitation of this research is that the sample was collected from the population of Bahawalpur which has limited successful firms. This research may miss some of the key factors because of limited time available to researchers. Value: This study shows that firm's owners and managers should more focus more on firm level determinants like innovation, strategy, technology, structure etc which help to made firm successful. Keywords: entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, E-V-R Congruenc