The Interaction Effect of Financial Leverage on the Relationship Between Board Attributes and Firm Performance; Evidence of Non-financial Listed Companies of Pakistan

The eminence of corporate governance (CG) was grasped after the major blunders incorporate strategies and distinct corporate scandals around the world during the global financial crises. Advanced countries have passed numerous laws such as “Say on Pay” or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to shield the shareholder’s wealth. However, evolving countries are still flourishing to gain recognition in corporate governance (CG) effectiveness. The intention of the study is to probe the link between the CG (board size, outside directors) and firm performance (Tobin’s Q). Leverage has been used as an interaction term in the current study. The data had been collected from 130 non-financial firms from the year 2012 to 2015 and Multiple Regression Techniques will be used as the instruments for data analysis. The results indicate that the board size and Tobin’s Q have a significant association and outside directors’ insignificant association with Tobin’s Q. The interaction effect of leverage found a significant connotation between board size, outside directors, and Tobin’s Q

Lead Cap Use in Interventional Cardiology: Time to Protect Our Head in the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory?

Background: Radiation exposure is an occupational hazard for interventional cardiologists and cardiac catheterisation laboratory staff that can manifest with serious long-term health consequences. Personal protective equipment, including lead jackets and glasses, is common, but the use of radiation protective lead caps is inconsistent. Methods: A systematic review qualitative assessment of five observational studies using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines protocol was performed. Results: It was concluded that lead caps significantly reduce radiation exposure to the head, even when a ceiling-mounted lead shield was present. Conclusion: Although newer protective systems are being studied and introduced, tools, such as lead caps, need to be strongly considered and employed in the catheterisation laboratory as mainstay personal protective equipment

Molecular modeling of novel 2-aminopyridine derivatives as potential JAK2 inhibitors: a rational strategy for promising anticancer agents

Janus kinase 2(JAK2) is a potential target for anticancer drugs in the treatment of numerous myeloproliferative diseases due to its central role in the JAK/STAT signaling cascade. In this study, the binding behavior of 2 amino-pyridine derivatives as JAK2 inhibitors was investigated by using multifaceted strategies including 3D-QSAR, molecular docking, Fingerprint analysis, MD simulations, and MM-PBSA calculations. A credible COMFA (q2 = 0.606 and r2 = 0.919) and COMSIA (q2 = 0.641 and r2 = 0.992) model was developed, where the internal and external validation revealed that the obtained 3D-QSAR models could be capable of predicting bioactivities of JAK2 inhibitors. The structural criteria provided by the contour maps of model were used to computationally develop more potent 100 new JAK2 inhibitors. Docking studies were conducted on the model data set and newly developed compounds (in-house library) to demonstrate their binding mechanism and highlight the key interacting residues within JAK2 active site. The selected docked complexes underwent MD simulation (100 ns), which contributed in the further study of the binding interactions. Binding free energy analyses (MMGB/PBSA) revealed that key residues such as Glu930, Leu932 (hinge region), Asp939 (solvent accessible region), Arg980, Asn981and Asp994 (catalytic site) have a significantly facilitate ligand-protein interactions through H-bonding and van der Waals interactions. The preliminary in-silico ADMET evaluation revealed encouraging results for all the modeled and in-house library compounds. The findings of this research have the potential to offer valuable recommendations for the advancement of novel, potent, and efficacious JAK2 inhibitors. Overall, this work has successfully employed a wide range of computer-based methodologies to understand the interaction dynamics between 2-amino-pyridine derivatives and the JAK2 enzyme, which is a crucial target in myeloproliferative disorders. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma</p