Corruption and its diverse effect on credit risk: global evidence

Corruption has a complex relationship with economic growth. We have explored the impact of corruption on credit risk from a global perspective. The sample consists of 178 countries and covers 18 years that range from 2000 to 2017. Non-performing loan (NPL) is used as a proxy for credit risk and data regarding NPL is collected from the World Bank Database. Corruption scores are collected from the Transparency International reports. Panel regression results provide a positive association between corruption and credit risk for the global sample. Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) regression and robustness tests validate the findings. However, sub-sample analysis provides support for “grease the wheel” hypothesis for high corruption countries and indicate that corruption is beneficial in a weak form of governance and excessive regulatory pressure. This study advocate for the importance of strong governance mechanisms in high corruption countries that can minimize the impact of corruption on banking sector profitability and ensure economic development. Unlike past literature, we provide global evidence on the association between corruption and credit risk for the banking sector which allows generalizability

Assessment of Hearing Loss by Audiometry - Our Experience at Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective: To analyze the results of pure tone audiometry in the terms of age, sex, and type of hearing loss attending the hospital with the complaint of hearing loss. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, patients attending Benazir Bhutto hospital with complaints of hearing loss were included. The data analysis was done under the terms of age, sex and unilateral/bilateral, and type of loss after pure tone audiometry of every case. The type of hearing loss was determined as conductive, SNHL, and mixed hearing loss. Results: There were 47 patients. Males were 34 (72.34%) outnumbering13females 13(27.66). Adults were44 (93.61%) and children were 3(6.34%). Mixed hearing loss was28 (59.57%)% compared to conductive hearing loss 15 (31.91) and SNHL4 (8.51%). Conclusion: Hearing loss is more common in adults and more prevalent in males. It is mostly bilateral. Mixed hearing loss is more common as compared to conductive and SNHL respectively. Sociacusis is to be taken seriously. &nbsp

Shock Induced Damage Mechanism Of Perineuronal Net

ECM components, such as the Perineuronal net (PNN), one of the most prevalent parts surrounding the neuronal cell. PNN is a protective net-like structure regulating neuronal activity such as neurotransmission, charge balance and generates an action potential. Shock induced damage of this essential component may cause neuronal cell death and potentially leads to CTE, AD diseases, PTSD, etc. The shock generated possibly during an accident, improvised devie explosion or collision between NFL players may lead to damage to this safety net. The goal is to investigate the mechanics of PNN under shock wave. To understand the mechanics of PNN, mechanical properties of different PNN components such as glycan, GAG, and protein need to be evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the mechanical strength of PNN molecules and the interfacial strength between the components of PNN. Afterward, we have assessed the PNN molecules' damage efficiency at various conditions such as shock speed, preexisting bubble, and boundary conditions. The secondary structure altercation of the protein molecules of the PNN has been analyzed to evaluate damage intensity under varying shock loading. At higher shock speed, damage intensity is more elevated, and hyaluronan is most likely to break at the rigid junction. The primary structure of the protein molecules is most unlikely to fail. Instead, the molecules' secondary bonds will be altered. Our study suggests that the number of hydrogen bonds during the shock wave propagation decreased.Comment: 2