Impact of Biases on Perceived Market Efficiency: Case of Pakistani Financial Market

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of individuals’ biases e.g. Illusion ofcontrol, Representative and Availability biases on perceived efficiency of Pakistani financial market. Perceived market efficiency has been used as dependent variable, while an individual biases(illusion of control bias, representative bias and availability bias) as independent variables. The population of the study was consisted of investors of Islamabad stock exchange, financial analysts and finance scholars. The sample of the study was selected on convenient bases. A sample size of 137 self-reported respondents was purposively drawn. The data were collected by using 5 point Likert scales questionnaire, in which closed ended questions were asked from the target population. A total number of 310 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 179 were received back, from which only 137 questionnaires were useable with response rate 44.4%. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression technique have been used for analysis purpose. The results indicate that illusion of control bias, and availability bias has significant and negative impact on perceived efficiency of Pakistani financial market, while representative bias has not significant impact on perceived market efficiency. Keywords: Illusion of control, Representative bias, Availability bias, market efficiency

The Physiological and Molecular Characteristics of Chemically Induced Abiotic Stress Resistant Mutants of Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis)

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/298 on 12.04.2017 by CS (TIS)N-nitroso-N-ethyleurea (NEU) and N-nitroso-N-methyleurea (NMU) induced mutants and control plants had been maintained in in-vitro condition for 3 years by continuous sub-culturing and screened 2 generations for resistant mutants selection. In this study highly resistant mutants were regenerated and assessed by leaf discs assay for drought, salt and frost resistance to confirm the persistence of mutation over generations of subculture. Assessment was carried out using mannitol (drought stress), NaCl (salt stress) and freezing (frost stress). Cold-acclimated and non-acclimated leaves were assessed for frost resistance. Results confirmed the persistence of mutations in clones with enhanced tolerance levels to stresses over control plants. Response of individual mutants was different for each of the stresses, some mutants were resistant to two stresses whilst others demonstrated multiple resistance and no one mutant was resistant to a single stress. Acclimation at 4 °C appeared good enough to increase frost resistance compared to non-acclimation. Acclimation also tended to emphasis the difference between mutants and some mutants (K18 & K19) showed highly significant increase in frost resistance at -6 °C compared to control. Responses of in-vitro and in-vivo plants within a clone were correlated. Molecular and biochemical analysis was carried out with objectives (1) To investigate the presence of CBF/DREB1 and COR15 genes in cauliflower (2) To investigate whether the induced resistance can be attributed to the expression of these genes and proline level. The clones (mutants and control) were analyzed under cold acclimation (4 °C) and non-acclimation (22 °C). Total RNA was isolated after 3 h, 6 h, 24 h and 14 d acclimation. Proteins and free proline were isolated after 14 d acclimation. Under non-acclimation, RNA, protein and proline isolated once at end of experiment. cDNA was produced using RT-PCR, with specific primers the gene was detected only in acclimated clones and no PCR product appeared under non-acclimation. The PCR product was isolated, sequenced, and compared the nucleotides and deduced amino acid sequences with other plants. Very high resemblance (- 91 %) with Brassica species (BnCBF5/DREB1, BrDREB1 and BjDREB1B) were found and confirmed the first reporting of the transcription factor BoCBF/DREB1 in cauliflower. This resemblance was reduced to 67% when compared to other plants, confirms that this sequence is conserved in Brassica. The transcript level increased up to 24 h acclimation and then declined. The response of the mutants was different, some showed PCR product at 3 h while others only after 6 h and 24 h acclimation. Through SDS-PAGE and Western blotting, the COR15a protein was detected with specific antibodies obtained from MSU (USA), and the blots appeared in all clones under cold acclimation correlated with frost resistance but under non-acclimation the COR15a constitutively expressed only in 3 mutants with increased frost resistance that confirms the persistence of mutation. The genotypes showed positive correlation between BoCBF/DREB1 expression and frost resistance and this correlation was significant after 24 h and 14 d cold acclimation. The highest R² value was found between BoCBF/DREB1 expression at 14 d and EC% at -6 °C (93.43% of variation accounted for) followed by BoCBF/DREB1 expression at 24 h and EC% at -6 °C (82.57%). The proline level under acclimation increased about 8 times compared to non-acclimation and demonstrated positive and significant correlation with BoCBF/DREB1 expression. Proline also showed positive and significant correlation with frost resistance under cold acclimation but very weak under non-acclimation. The effect of cold acclimation on proline and total protein was evaluated and negative correlation was found to be non significant between free proline and total protein content in clones.Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakista

Performance enhancement of nylon/Kevlar fiber composites through viscoelastically generated pre-stress

Kevlar-29 fibers have high strength and stiffness but nylon 6,6 fibers have greater ductility. Thus by commingling these fibers prior to molding in a resin, the resulting hybrid composite may be mechanically superior to the corresponding single fiber-type composites. The contribution made by viscoelastically generated prestress, via the commingled nylon fibers, should add further performance enhancement. This paper reports on an initial study into the Charpy impact toughness and flexural stiffness of hybrid (commingled) nylon/Kevlar fiber viscoelastically prestressed composites at low fiber volume fractions. The main findings show that (i) hybrid composites (with no prestress) absorb more impact energy than Kevlar fiber-only composites; (ii) prestress further increases impact energy absorption in the hybrid case by up to 33%; (iii) prestress increases flexural modulus by ~40% in the hybrid composites. These findings are discussed in relation to practical composite applications

Ethnobotanical Profile of Weed Flora of District Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

District Charsadda is a very important center of plant biodiversity in the central plain of Peshawar valley, Pakistan. The present study was carried out during March 2015 to April 2016 to investigate the ethnobotanical profile of common weed flora present in district Charsadda, KP, Pakistan. The study revealed that there were 40 weed species belonging to 21 families. Among them 25 weeds were annual herb, 9 weeds were perennial herb, three were annual grass, one was climbing herb, one was the parasitic weed, and one was rhizomatic grass. The dominant families were Asteraceae, Fabaceae and poaceae having 5 species (12.5%) each followed by Ranunculaceae 3 species (7.5%). plants were systematically arranged into botanical names, local names, families, habit, habitat, partly used, flowering periods, locality and ethnobotanical uses. The main aim of the study is the documentation and ethnobotanical information of the weed flora growing in the area

The material properties of naked mole-rat hyaluronan.

Hyaluronan (HA) is a key component of the extracellular matrix. Given the fundamental role of HA in the cancer resistance of the naked mole-rat (NMR), we undertook to explore the structural and soft matter properties of this species-specific variant, a necessary step for its development as a biomaterial. We examined HA extracted from NMR brain, lung, and skin, as well as that isolated from the medium of immortalised cells. In common with mouse HA, NMR HA forms a range of assemblies corresponding to a wide distribution of molecular weights. However, unique to the NMR, are highly folded structures, whose characteristic morphology is dependent on the tissue type. Skin HA forms tightly packed assemblies that have spring-like mechanical properties in addition to a strong affinity for water. Brain HA forms three dimensional folded structures similar to the macroscopic appearance of the gyri and sulci of the human brain. Lung HA forms an impenetrable mesh of interwoven folds in a morphology that can only be described as resembling a snowman. Unlike HA that is commercially available, NMR HA readily forms robust gels without the need for chemical cross-linking. NMR HA gels sharply transition from viscoelastic to elastic like properties upon dehydration or repeated loading. In addition, NMR HA can form ordered thin films with an underlying semi-crystalline structure. Given the role of HA in maintaining hydration in the skin it is plausible that the folded structures contribute to both the elasticity and youthfulness of NMR skin. It is also possible that such densely folded materials could present a considerable barrier to cell invasion throughout the tissues, a useful characteristic for a biomaterial.This work was supported by a Cancer Research UK/RCUK Multidisciplinary Project Award (C56829/A22053) to K.R., E.S. and D.F. and a Cancer Research UK Career Establishment Award (C47525/A17348) to W.T.K. F.H. and S.C. were supported by Gates Cambridge Trust scholarships

Molybdenum (Mo) increases endogenous phenolics, proline and photosynthetic pigments and the phytoremediation potential of the industrially important plant Ricinus communis L. for removal of cadmium from contaminated soil.

Cadmium (Cd) in agricultural soil negatively affects crops yield and compromises food safety. Remediation of polluted soil is necessary for the re-establishment of sustainable agriculture and to prevent hazards to human health and environmental pollution. Phytoremediation is a promising technology for decontamination of polluted soil. The present study investigated the effect of molybdenum (Mo) (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 ppm) on endogenous production of total phenolics and free proline, plant biomass and photosynthetic pigments in Ricinus communis plants grown in Cd (25, 50 and 100 ppm) contaminated soils and the potential for Cd phytoextraction. Mo was applied via seed soaking, soil addition and foliar spray. Foliar sprays significantly increased plant biomass, Cd accumulation and bioconcentration. Phenolic concentrations showed significantly positive correlations with Cd accumulation in roots (R 2 = 0.793, 0.807 and 0.739) and leaves (R 2 = 0.707, 721 and 0.866). Similarly, proline was significantly positively correlated with Cd accumulation in roots (R 2 = 0.668, 0.694 and 0.673) and leaves (R 2 = 0.831, 0.964 and 0.930). Foliar application was found to be the most effective way to deliver Mo in terms of increase in plant growth, Cd accumulation and production of phenolics and proline

BCL11A is a triple-negative breast cancer gene with critical functions in stem and progenitor cells.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has poor prognostic outcome compared with other types of breast cancer. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying TNBC pathology are not fully understood. Here, we report that the transcription factor BCL11A is overexpressed in TNBC including basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) and that its genomic locus is amplified in up to 38% of BLBC tumours. Exogenous BCL11A overexpression promotes tumour formation, whereas its knockdown in TNBC cell lines suppresses their tumourigenic potential in xenograft models. In the DMBA-induced tumour model, Bcl11a deletion substantially decreases tumour formation, even in p53-null cells and inactivation of Bcl11a in established tumours causes their regression. At the cellular level, Bcl11a deletion causes a reduction in the number of mammary epithelial stem and progenitor cells. Thus, BCL11A has an important role in TNBC and normal mammary epithelial cells. This study highlights the importance of further investigation of BCL11A in TNBC-targeted therapies