An Effectiveness of Human Resource Management Practices on Employee Retention Findings from Insurance Companies of Karachi

The purpose of this research is to identify the “Effectiveness of Human Resource Management Practices on Employee Retention Findings from Insurance Companies of Karachi”. The research will help in determining the importance of HRM practices. Primary data is collected through questionnaires which are of close ended nature.5 LIKERT scales are provided in the questionnaire so that we find the result estimation of Human Resource practices on employee retention. Respondent are selected by snowball sampling technique with a response rate of 93%. To analyze the data, SPSS software has been used. Respondent information is taken by asking questions about variables like Compensation, Performance Appraisal and Empowerment. Reliability test is utilized to check the reliability of our questionnaire. Correlation test is utilized to test the relationship between independent variable and dependent variables and Regression Analysis is done for the purpose of testing hypothesis. The end results show that HRM practices i.e.; training and development, performance appraisal, compensation and empowerment have a positive impact on employee retention. Keywords: Training and development, performance appraisal, compensation and empowerment, insurance companies

Postpartum Care Utilization among Primigravida: A Study in Rural Punjab, Pakistan

The present paper examined some of the socio-economic factors associated with postpartum care utilization among primigravida (first time mothers) in rural Punjab, Pakistan. Data were collected from 205 primigravida within six weeks following their delivery. Maternal education, husband’s education, husband’s occupation, monthly household income and exposure to mass media turned out to be some of the important factors in postpartum care utilization. Antenatal care, type of delivery and place of delivery were significantly associated with the postpartum care services utilization. The findings of the present study clearly underscored the importance of educational attainments of both the spouses in determining the postpartum care utilization. This finding implies that education can help reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Keywords: Ante-natal care, Postpartum care, Primigravida, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortalit

Frequency of endometriosis among infertile women and association of clinical signs and symptoms with the laparoscopic staging of endometriosis

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to determine the frequency of endometriosis in women who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for evaluation of infertility and the association of clinical, ultrasonographic and laparoscopic findings of endometriosis with the laparoscopic stages of the disease.METHOD: It was a retrospective study of women presenting to gynaecologic clinics of the Aga Khan University Hospital from January 1999 to December 2005 with primary complaint of primary or secondary infertility and were diagnosed with endometriosis through laparoscopy. Relevant demographic and clinical information was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 14.0.RESULTS: The frequency of endometriosis in women with primary compliant of infertility was found to be 16.8%. Statistically significant associations was found between staging of the disease and thin built (p=0.007) and restricted uterine mobility on pelvic examination (p=0.035). The patients\u27 ultrasound and laparoscopic examination showed significant association with staging of the disease with the presence of cysts on ultrasound (p-value \u3c 0.0001) and adhesions on laparoscopy (p valu

Correlation between Ultrasonographic Grading of Fatty Liver and Lipid Profile

Fatty liver disease can easily cause  detrimental  changes when it slolwly  progressess towards the aggressive stages of  liver fibrosis leading to cirrhosis, and it can also cause collateral damages in the form of   cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerotic disease. The main  purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between the grading of fatty liver disease provided by the ultrasound with lipid profile work of the affected patient.  A comparative analytical study  was conducted on 138 patients affected with fatty liver disease,the patients were chosen by  convenient sampling technique. Study was conducted at Radiology Department of General Hospital Lahore and Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahimyar khan during July 2019 to October 2019. Total 138 patients data were analyzed. Out of 138 males were 65 (47.1%) males and females were 73 (52.9%) w.The study indicated  that the total number of patients having grade 1 fatty liver was 84 (60.9%), patients having grade 2 fatty liver was 52 (37.7%) and patients having grade 3 fatty liver was 2 (1.4%). Out of 138 patients there were total  67 (48.6%)cases of patients with fatty liver disease and  out of 138 patients, 71 (51.4%) were considered normal .Female patients were allegedly found to be more effected with fatty liver than males and majority of patients fell into the category of grade1 fatty liver. Since the majority of the patient fell into the category of grade 1 of fatty liver disese and there lipid profile test also indicated towards normal values so the risk of developing any cardiovascular disease among the patients was mininal

In Vitro Supplementation of Glycine Improves Quality of Cryopreserved Bull Semen

The extender supplementation of glycine on quality of cryopreserved bull sperm was reported in current study. Three adult Sahiwal bulls was used for semen collection by artificial vagina having 42°C (three weeks) (replicates; n=18)). Collected semen was quickly shifted to laboratory for initial evaluation. Qualified semen ejaculates (>60% motility, >1mL volume, >0.5billion/mL cons.) was diluted in tris extender having 0 (control), 5, 10 and 15 and 20mM of glycine. Cooling of extended semen to (4℃) was done in 2 hours and kept for 4 hours for equilibration. French straws were used for filling at (4℃), liquid nitrogen used for freezing. Highest percentages of post thaw sperm progressive motility and acrosome integrity were observed in extender containing 5mM of glycine compared to other treatments and control (P<0.05). However, glycine supplementation in extender didn’t affect viability, chromatin integrity and plasma membrane integrity of bull sperm. In conclusion, glycine addition at 5 mM in extender improves quality of cryopreserved bull semen

Assessment of Knowledge Retention Ability of Undergraduate Medical Students

BACKGROUND: Being a natural phenomenon, the knowledge learned by students is quickly forgotten. However, various factors are pertinent for one’s memory and knowledge retention ability. This ability is not investigated earlier among pass and fail students of a particular exam. OBJECTIVES: To determine and compare short term memory and Knowledge retention ability among pass and fail students of mid-term exam. METHODS: 103 first-year MBBS students were examined in 3 cycles after result of mid-term examination announced. These cycles consisted of 2 components related with short term memory (1st & 2nd cycles) & knowledge retention ability (3rd cycle) with one week duration apart. RESULTS: Class attendance of pass, fail and absentees groups demonstrated statistically significant (P fail > absentees and significant correlation with marks obtained. A comparison between short term memory & knowledge retention ability also demonstrated statistically significant (P<0.0005) difference. CONCLUSION: The quality of learning positively correlates with the class attendance. Short term memory and knowledge retention abilities are significantly better in pass students and statistically correlate with each other. Regular conduct of such tests is suggested to assess short term memory & knowledge retention ability so that appropriate methods to enhance these can be adopted

Invasive Mucormycosis Induced Pneumopericardium: A Rare Cause of Pneumopericardium in an Immunocompromised Patient

Mucor and Rhizopus cause life-threatening infections primarily involving the lungs and sinuses, which disseminate very rapidly by necrosis and infarction of the contiguous tissues. We present a case of a 64-year-old African American posttransplant patient who presented with a productive cough and weight loss. He had a past surgical history of renal transplant for renal cell carcinoma and was on dual immunosuppressive therapy, that is, mycophenolate and tacrolimus. During his hospital stay, he developed a pneumopericardium due to the direct extension of a lung lesion. The diagnosis was made by radiological imaging and PCR result which was consistent with Mucor species. He was treated with antifungal therapy. The purpose of this report is to highlight the unusual association of mucormycosis with pneumopericardium

Cost-effectiveness and diagnostic accuracy of telemedicine in macular disease and diabetic retinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine cost-effectiveness and the diagnostic accuracy of teleophthalmology (TO) in the detection of macular edema (ME) and various grades of diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched for TO, ME, and DR on May 25, 2016. The search was updated on April 2, 2019. Pooled sensitivity and specificity for ME and various grades of DR were determined using Meta-Disc software. A systematic review of the articles discussing the cost-effectiveness of TO screening was also performed. RESULTS: Thirty-three articles on the diagnostic accuracy and 28 articles on the cost-effectiveness were selected. CONCLUSIONS: Telescreening is moderately sensitive but very specific for the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. Non-mydriatic Teleretinal screening services are cost-effective, decrease clinics workload, and increase patient compliance if provided free of cost in remote low socioeconomic regions

Mitigation of water scarcity with sustained growth of Rice by plant growth promoting bacteria

Climate change augments the risk to food security by inducing drought stress and a drastic decline in global rice production. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been known to improve plant growth under drought stress. Here in the present study, we isolated, identified, and well-characterized eight drought-tolerant bacteria from the rice rhizosphere that are tolerant to 20% PEG-8000. These strains exhibited multiple plant growth-promoting traits, i.e., 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity, exopolysaccharide production, phosphate (P)-solubilizing activity (51–356 µg ml-1), indole-3 acetic acid (IAA) production (14.3–46.2 µg ml-1), and production of organic acids (72–178 µg ml-1). Inoculation of bacterial consortium (Bacillus subtilis NM-2, Brucella haematophilum NM-4, and Bacillus cereus NM-6) significantly improved seedling growth and vigor index (1009.2-1100) as compared to non-inoculated stressed plants (630-957). Through rhizoscanning, efficiency of the consortium was validated by improved root parameters such as root length (17%), diameter, and surface area (18%) of all tested genotypes as compared with respective non-inoculated stressed treatments. Furthermore, the response of consortium inoculation on three rice genotypes was positively correlated with improved plant growth and drought stress ameliorating traits by the accumulation of osmoprotectant, i.e., proline (85.8%–122%), relative water content (51%), membrane stability index (64%), and production of antioxidant enzymes to reduce oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species. A decrease in temperature and improved chlorophyll content of inoculated plants were found using infrared thermal imaging and soil plant analyzer development (SPAD), respectively. The key supporting role of inoculation toward stress responses was validated using robust techniques like infrared thermal imaging and an infrared gas analyzer. Furthermore, principal component analysis depicts the contribution of inoculation on stress responses and yield of tested rice genotypes under water stress. The integration of drought-tolerant rice genotype (NIBGE-DT02) and potential bacterial strains, i.e., NM-2, NM-4, and NM-6, can serve as an effective bioinoculant to cope with water scarcity under current alarming issues related to food security in fluctuating climate

Measuring routine childhood vaccination coverage in 204 countries and territories, 1980-2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020, Release 1

Background Measuring routine childhood vaccination is crucial to inform global vaccine policies and programme implementation, and to track progress towards targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) and Immunization Agenda 2030. Robust estimates of routine vaccine coverage are needed to identify past successes and persistent vulnerabilities. Drawing from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Release 1, we did a systematic analysis of global, regional, and national vaccine coverage trends using a statistical framework, by vaccine and over time. Methods For this analysis we collated 55 326 country-specific, cohort-specific, year-specific, vaccine-specific, and dosespecific observations of routine childhood vaccination coverage between 1980 and 2019. Using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, we produced location-specific and year-specific estimates of 11 routine childhood vaccine coverage indicators for 204 countries and territories from 1980 to 2019, adjusting for biases in countryreported data and reflecting reported stockouts and supply disruptions. We analysed global and regional trends in coverage and numbers of zero-dose children (defined as those who never received a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis [DTP] vaccine dose), progress towards GVAP targets, and the relationship between vaccine coverage and sociodemographic development. Findings By 2019, global coverage of third-dose DTP (DTP3; 81.6% [95% uncertainty interval 80.4-82 .7]) more than doubled from levels estimated in 1980 (39.9% [37.5-42.1]), as did global coverage of the first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1; from 38.5% [35.4-41.3] in 1980 to 83.6% [82.3-84.8] in 2019). Third- dose polio vaccine (Pol3) coverage also increased, from 42.6% (41.4-44.1) in 1980 to 79.8% (78.4-81.1) in 2019, and global coverage of newer vaccines increased rapidly between 2000 and 2019. The global number of zero-dose children fell by nearly 75% between 1980 and 2019, from 56.8 million (52.6-60. 9) to 14.5 million (13.4-15.9). However, over the past decade, global vaccine coverage broadly plateaued; 94 countries and territories recorded decreasing DTP3 coverage since 2010. Only 11 countries and territories were estimated to have reached the national GVAP target of at least 90% coverage for all assessed vaccines in 2019. Interpretation After achieving large gains in childhood vaccine coverage worldwide, in much of the world this progress was stalled or reversed from 2010 to 2019. These findings underscore the importance of revisiting routine immunisation strategies and programmatic approaches, recentring service delivery around equity and underserved populations. Strengthening vaccine data and monitoring systems is crucial to these pursuits, now and through to 2030, to ensure that all children have access to, and can benefit from, lifesaving vaccines. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe