Public perceptions of Keir Starmer’s performance suggest he has yet to produce a clear narrative of both the COVID-19 crisis and his leadership

Farah Hussain and Karl Pike use new polling findings to shed light on Keir Starmer’s performance in opposition. They show how unconvinced the public is of his ‘constructive opposition’ strategy

Association of PM10 and PM2.5 exposure with respiratory health of the children living near palm oil mill, Dengkil

Waste and by-products form palm oil trees are versatile and can be used as biomass fuel, but the processes of producing electricity by using low pressure boilers are causing air pollution. The objective of this study is to determine the association between PM10 and PM2.5 exposure with respiratory symptoms and lung function among children living near to palm oil mill. A cross- Sectional comparative study was carried out among school children at Dengkil and Kerling. Questionnaires adopted from ATS-DLD-78-C were distributed to the respondents’ parents. PM10 and PM2.5 was measured. Lung function of the respondents was evaluated by using Chest Graph Spirometer; results were compared with standards of lung function, by ATS (1991). There was a significant difference for Mean±SD PM10 and PM2.5 in studied and comparative area, (p<0.05). There were significant association between PM10 with wheezing and cough (PR=5.220, CI%=1.030-26.453) and (PR=3.289 CI%=1.074-10.072). The study indicates that the lung function of; FEV1 % (t=-4.54, p=0.001) and FEV1/FVC % (t=-7.00, p=0.001) were lower among studied group compared to the comparative group. Results also showed that there is a significant inverse correlation between PM2.5 and FVC% (r=-0.352, p=0.0226). The need for palm oil mill management to evaluate the effectiveness of their implemented control measure seems to be very important, as black soot emitted from boilers stack is believed to contain high level of. The high efficiency biomass boiler and the used of fabric filters should be considered if the implemented control measure is not functioning effectively

Circular Arc Approximation by Quartic H-Bézier Curve

The quartic H-Bézier curve is used for the approximation of circular arcs. It has five control points and one positive real free parameter. The four control points are carried out b

How Efficient is Dhaka Stock Exchange in Terms of Weak Form of Market Efficiency?

Weak form of market efficiency is quite a buzzword among the academicians of financial arena. Part of thestatistics dominated methodology of this study had used inputs of the previous studies – studies back in days of1960’s. By using monthly market return series data, the researchers had tried to check whether DSE - DhakaStock Exchange had been efficient in the weak form or not. Evidence of weak form of efficiency had been alsotested across time slabs, across share category and across industries. Both parametric and non-parametric testswere used to find out evidence of random walk behavior. To add variations in the study daily return series andunsmoothed return series were used. The researchers had not found any evidence of weak form of marketefficiency for Dhaka Stock Exchange on the whole, even though there was a sign of improvement in terms ofweak form of market efficiency across time. The returns of stocks and market portfolio were found to be autocorrelatedand market generally overreacted to information. The effectiveness of two-market anomaly basedtrading strategy (momentum and weekend effect) was tested based on ex-post return series but these strategiesfailed to garner sustainable abnormal profit. But still the researchers cannot refute the possibility of a trading ruleor a few trading rules extracting abnormal return in an inefficient market like Bangladesh. There was no real signof weak form of market efficiency across share categories and across industries. Inefficiency in the weak formwas an expected result, but whether the sign of improvement (in terms of weak form of market efficiency for therecent time slab) is sustainable in the long run or not is a big question.Keywords: Market efficiency, market anomalies, trading rul

The effect of secreted products from Pseudomons aeruginosa on immune cells

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that represents a major burden to the healthcare system as it accounts for a vast number of hospital-acquired infections. P. aeruginosa is a particular threat in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. This bacterium expresses an arsenal of secreted virulence factors that play a fundamental role in the invasion of the damaged physical barriers of the host and abrogate immune responses which aid the persistence of P. aeruginosa infections. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role of P. aeruginosa secretions in the modulation of the immune system and determine the key factors and their specific impact on immune cells such as T helper cells proliferation and monocytes viability. The present study employed peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors as a source of immune cells and bacterial supernatants as a source of exoproducts. In this context, the P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 was used throughout this project and two sublines of this strain were mainly involved in this work; the PAO1 sublines Lausanne (PAO1-L) and Nottingham (PAO1-N). Different sublines of PAO1 are genetically diverse and this variation was utilised as a tool to identify the key molecules produced by P. aeruginosa that are responsible for the observed effect. The present study demonstrated that P. aeruginosa supernatants obtained from PAO1-L has an inhibitory effect on T cell proliferation in response to Staphylococcus Enterotoxin B (SEB), but not α-CD3 and α-CD28 stimulation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultures. This effect appears to be mediated by the cytotoxic effect of P. aeruginosa products on monocytes, a precursor of antigen presenting cells. Analysis of different P. aeruginosa mutants showed that the cytotoxic activity is controlled by toxR. ToxR is a regulatory protein which enhances the production of one of the most important virulence factors of P. aeruginosa, exotoxin A (ToxA; ETA). The impact of ETA production by P. aeruginosa on immune cells was investigated using a newly generated ETA-deficient mutant ΔtoxA in PAO1-L (Lausanne background) in comparison with its isogenic wild type (WT). Preliminary observations showed that the generation of apoptotic monocytes correlated with the high expression of ETA in the bacterial supernatants as both PAO1-LΔtoxR and PAO1-LΔtoxA are less toxic strains than PAO1-L. These findings suggest that the presence of monocytes is crucial to mediate ETA down regulation of T cell proliferation. However, the effect of PAO1-LΔtoxA supernatants on T cell proliferation in response to SEB could not be fully assessed because SEB stopped inducing T cell proliferation as before. To overcome this obstacle, phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) was employed as a promoter of T cell division. However, the suppressor effect was only clear on the CD3+/CD4+ T cell subset after stimulation with PAO1-L (ETA+) supernatant in response to PHA and full T cell proliferation was not recovered in the absence of ETA (PAO1-LΔtoxA). Finally, P. aeruginosa and Candida albicans are typical opportunistic respiratory tract pathogens and the nature of the relationship between these two pathogens is still not entirely clear. Thus, in this work, an in vitro assay to evaluate the impact of P. aeruginosa secretions on C. albicans was developed. Our results suggest that P. aeruginosa secreted products promote C. albicans hyphal growth and the filament formation is not correlated with either the presence of the toxR gene or the production of ETA and rhamnolipids. Interestingly, a supernatant prepared from PAO1-L mutant with a 58 Kb deletion induces the growth of the yeast form suggesting that the gene that encodes the key element, which is responsible of inducing the hyphal growth, is located within this region. This work might deliver new understandings on the interactions between P. aeruginosa and C. albicans in polymicrobial infections particularly in susceptible individuals like those with Cystic Fibrosis and burn victims. Further work is currently being carried out in our group to identify the active molecules that trigger filamentous growth in C. albicans and to determine the contribution of this agent on the interaction between P. aeruginosa and C. albicans during co-infection

Epistaxis: comparison of chemical cautery with topical vasoconstrictor in adult anterior epistaxis

Background: To compare efficacy of 75% silver nitrate chemical cautery as opposed to topical vasoconstrictor spray (xylometazoline 0.1%) in adult anterior epistaxis.Methods: This randomized controlled trial study was carried out at SMHS Hospital Srinagar from Jan 2019 to Dec 2019. 110 subjects that presented to ENT &amp; HNS emergency with epistaxis and fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. Subjects were randomly distributed into two groups. Group-A individuals were treated by cauterization with 75% silver nitrate and Group-B individuals were treated with topical vasoconstrictor spray (xylometazoline 0.1%). All the subjects were reviewed at 1 month and success was determined in terms of control of epistaxis from same side of nose.Results: The mean age of the cohort was 48.5yrs (age range, 17-59). There were total 60 (54.4%) males and 50 (45.4%) females among the cases. Both the groups were comparable as regards the age, sex, duration and frequency of epistaxis. 91.2% cases in Group-A (silver nitrate cautery) and 73.5% cases in Group-B (xylometazoline spray 0.1%) had no further epistaxis at one-month follow-up (p=0.014).Conclusions: Chemical cauterization with silver nitrate is a feasible and safe technique for the treatment of adult anterior epistaxis and is more effective than topical vasoconstrictor spray

Faculty Satisfaction In Higher Education: A TQM Approach

This paper was aimed to investigate the levels of satisfaction among faculty members in higher education in Pakistan. Five hundred faculty members were surveyed from leading public and private universities through an instrument developed by the authors and 450 were completed and returned. Percentage method was used to analyze and interpret data. The results highlighted the value of the survey as a strategy for management and human resource planning in universities

Impact of Liquidity Risk on Banks (A Case Study of Punjab, Pakistan)

The main reason or purpose of this research is to find out the impact of liquidity risk on banking sector. Bank and risk are two things that cannot be separated from each other. One of the critical risk is liquidity risk that caused by bank disabilities on meeting their maturity dates of depositors. Therefore it needs further observations to control their liquidity risk. In this study simple linear regression is used through SPSS to investigate the influence between dependent and independent variable such as Return on Equity, Return on Asset, Current Ratio, Capital Adequacy Ratio, belongs to liquidity risk on banking industry. The selection of samples uses purposive sampling method. The study is based on secondary data in a period of 20 years, i.e. 1991-2011. The statistical  analysis  of  secondary  data  has  been  divided  into  three,  which  are  descriptive, regression and hypothesis testing. The study finds negatively and significant influence of Capital Adequacy Ratio and Return on Equity to liquidity risk, while Return on Asset and Current Ratio have positively and significant effect. Return on Asset and Current Ratio influences to liquidity risk is positive and in same direction (upward) while Return on Equity and, Capital Adequacy Ratio influences to the liquidity risk is negatively and in opposite direction (downward).Return on Equity and Capital Adequacy Ratio Increases the Liquidity Risk will decreases, while Return on Asset and Current Ratio increases then Liquidity Risk will also increases. Keyword: Liquidity Risk. Return on asset (ROA). Return on equity (ROE). Current Ratio (CR), Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR

Diagnostic Radiology in Liberia: A Country Report

Liberia is a tropical country located south of the Sahara Desert in coastal West Africa. It lies at 6 °30’ North Latitude and 9° 30’ West Longitude and is bordered by Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and the Atlantic Ocean. Liberia has three distinct topographical areas: 1) coastal plain, creeks, lagoons and mangrove swamps; 2) rolling, forested hills with elevations up to 500 feet that cover most of the country; and 3) low mountains and plateaus in the Northern highlands with elevations reaching 4,748 feet (Nimba Mountains). Liberia is home to approximately four million people and is roughly the size of the US state of Tennessee. Named after former US President James Monroe, Liberia’s capital Monrovia is a coastal city with a population of one million (1). There are two major seasons in Liberia: dry and rainy. The dry season occurs between December and March, and is is characterized by warm days and cool nights, with risk of sand storms from the Sahara Desert (2). The rainy season occurs between mid-April and mid-November. The average annual rainfall is 200 inches on the coast and decreases to 80 inches in areas farthest inland, and the average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) (1). Liberia is a low-income country that relies heavily on foreign aid (3). Liberia is the seventh poorest nation in the world, ranking 31st among 46 sub-Sarahan African countries in national income. In 2013, Liberia’s per capita GDP was $900 US (3). Liberia’s economy depends heavily on natural resources, with mining and agriculture being the dominant industries. Iron exportation has grown and in 2013 overcame rubber as Liberia’s top export. According to the 2013 Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Annual Report, iron ore and rubber represent 82% of Liberia’s total exports (4). Civil war destroyed much of Liberia’s economy, including critical infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Although conditions are favorable for agriculture, Liberia does not produce nearly enough food to meet the demands of its population. The country imports large quantities of food, with rice alone accounting for 10% of its overall imports (5)