Determinants of capital structure : an empirical study of KSE listed MNCs in Pakistan

Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are generally financed with a mixture of internal debt and equity from the parent corporation. Yet, financial theory has relatively little to say regarding the capital structure and its determinants in an international setting. This research empirically examines the major determinants of capital structure decisions of Multinational Corporations listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange for the period 2005-2017. The data was studied using panel data regression analysis. Results suggest that apart from traditional determinants such as profitability, tangibility, size, Non Debt Tax Shield (NDTS) etc., specific international factors such as political risk, exchange rate risk, agency costs and bankruptcy costs are relevant to the multinational capital structure decision. The results are broadly consistent with theory. It is therefore recommended that the management of listed MNCs in Pakistan should always consider their positions using these capital structure determinants as important inputs before embarking on debt financing decision.peer-reviewe

PICTORIAL REVIEW OF EXTRAOSSEOUS EWING’S TUMOUR: A SINGLE CENTER EXPERIENCE

Purpose: Ewing’s family tumour is an extremely rare tumour, with annual incidence rates amongst Caucasian children <21 years being in the range of 2–3 cases per million in the U.S. There are mainly three subtypes including Ewing’s sarcoma (ES) of bone, extraosseous (EO) Ewing’s tumour and Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour. Although extremely rare, this study represents a review of various types of cases and the significance of imaging including its baseline and post-treatment response radiological characteristics. There are a very few cases of EO ES in the current literature with variable spectrum of tumour site and their imaging characteristics.Materials and Methods: Electronic records were retrospectively reviewed from 1 May 2011 to 1 May 2016 with patients who were diagnosed as histologically proven ES. A number of patients, gender and base line computed tomography (CT)/magnetic resonance imaging findings for staging were reviewed.Results: A total of 568 patients with diagnosed ES were analysed, of which 15 patients had EO type of ES. Of these only 8 patients had baseline imaging available which included tumours arising from the occipital region, orbit, anterior mediastinum, anterior abdominal wall, mesentery, kidney, prostate gland and presacral region.Conclusion: EO ES is a rare entity and can involve a wide array of soft tissue organs. A cross-sectional imaging with CT and MR has a key role in pre- and post-treatment assessment.Key words: Computed tomography, Ewing’s sarcoma, extraosseous Ewing’s, magnetic resonance imaging, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumou

Electron emission characterization of laser-induced gaseous plasma

Laser induced hydrogen plasma has been investigated as a source of electrons. The energy, temperature and flux of the electrons have been determined by using two different temporal detectors; Faraday cup and Rogowski coil. The energy, temperature and flux were measured from the electrons extracted from laser induced hydrogen plasma. The Rogowski coil has been used for measurement of flux and current whereas Faraday cup has been used to determine the current density in laser induced plasma. The energy and temperature of the electrons are measured by the time of flight method in the range of 1.23 - 5.04 keV and 2516.26 eV, respectively. The flux of the electrons has been measured ≈ 1015 by Rogowski coil and the maximum current has been measured to be 39.6 kA. The current density has been measured by the Faraday cup ranges from 20 Am-2 to 23 Am-2

GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN TO COMMUNITY BASED DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

Although women are considered as the most vulnerable group in the society; but very little attention has been made to take into consideration the issue of gender sensitivity during the phase of Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction as well as Management in both natural and manmade disaster. In Pakistan a very limited number of organization are working to address the issue of mainstreaming of women in pre and post disaster activities. The goal of this paper is to synthesize and review the issue of disaster and gender mainstreaming. This paper highlights the gaps in terms of disaster preparedness by adopting CBDRM; and also critically analyzes the importance of the mainstreaming the element of gender in the phase of Disaster Mainstreaming overall in general and specific in the context of Pakistan. Recommendations and suggestions of the paper can be used to design and implement comprehensive CBDRM Preparedness Plan by mainstreaming the element of Gender sensitivity

Better Physical Activity Classification using Smartphone Acceleration Sensor

Obesity is becoming one of the serious problems for the health of worldwide population. Social interactions on mobile phones and computers via internet through social e-networks are one of the major causes of lack of physical activities. For the health specialist, it is important to track the record of physical activities of the obese or overweight patients to supervise weight loss control. In this study, acceleration sensor present in the smartphone is used to monitor the physical activity of the user. Physical activities including Walking, Jogging, Sitting, Standing, Walking upstairs and Walking downstairs are classified. Time domain features are extracted from the acceleration data recorded by smartphone during different physical activities. Time and space complexity of the whole framework is done by optimal feature subset selection and pruning of instances. Classification results of six physical activities are reported in this paper. Using simple time domain features, 99 % classification accuracy is achieved. Furthermore, attributes subset selection is used to remove the redundant features and to minimize the time complexity of the algorithm. A subset of 30 features produced more than 98 % classification accuracy for the six physical activities

Evaluation and Susceptibility Pattern of Staphylococci Isolated From Clinical Specimens in POF Hospital, Wah Cantt.

Objective: To determine the frequency and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from clinical specimens as a result of culture and sensitivity. Materials & Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out in POF Hospital Microbiology laboratory from January 2019 to September 2020. One hundred and eighty four staphylococci isolated from clinical specimens were processed as per standard methodology. Results: Out of 148, methicillin resistant S.aureus and methicillin resistant coagulase negative staphylococci were 38.04% and13.04% respectively. Infections caused by Methicillin resistant staphylococcal isolates were higher among the age group 31-40 years (71.4%, OR=2.68). Out of thirty expired patients, 53.3% had been infected with methicillin resistant staphylococcal infections. The methicillin resistant staphylococci were most frequent in miscellaneous category of clinical specimens (80.0%, OR=4.63). The susceptibility analysis revealed that methicillin resistant staphylococci are 100% resistant to penicillin, meropenem and amoxycillin-clavulanate (p=0.000).  A significant association of methicillin resistance was also noticed against amikacin (p=0.002), ciprofloxacin (p=0.001), clindamycin (p=0.005) and erythromycin (p=0.000). Moxifloxacin, linezolid and vancomycin are the most effective choice for infections caused by methicillin resistant staphylococci. Conclusions: The methicillin-resistant staphylococci are highly resistant to commonly prescribed oral as well as injectable antibiotics. Establishment and implementation of infection control policies are required to combat the grave situation of increasing antibiotic resistance

Evaluation and Susceptibility Pattern of Staphylococci Isolated From Clinical Specimens in POF Hospital, Wah Cantt.

Objective: To determine the frequency and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from clinical specimens as a result of culture and sensitivity. Materials & Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out in POF Hospital Microbiology laboratory from January 2019 to September 2020. One hundred and eighty four staphylococci isolated from clinical specimens were processed as per standard methodology. Results: Out of 148, methicillin resistant S.aureus and methicillin resistant coagulase negative staphylococci were 38.04% and13.04% respectively. Infections caused by Methicillin resistant staphylococcal isolates were higher among the age group 31-40 years (71.4%, OR=2.68). Out of thirty expired patients, 53.3% had been infected with methicillin resistant staphylococcal infections. The methicillin resistant staphylococci were most frequent in miscellaneous category of clinical specimens (80.0%, OR=4.63). The susceptibility analysis revealed that methicillin resistant staphylococci are 100% resistant to penicillin, meropenem and amoxycillin-clavulanate (p=0.000).  A significant association of methicillin resistance was also noticed against amikacin (p=0.002), ciprofloxacin (p=0.001), clindamycin (p=0.005) and erythromycin (p=0.000). Moxifloxacin, linezolid and vancomycin are the most effective choice for infections caused by methicillin resistant staphylococci. Conclusions: The methicillin-resistant staphylococci are highly resistant to commonly prescribed oral as well as injectable antibiotics. Establishment and implementation of infection control policies are required to combat the grave situation of increasing antibiotic resistance

Initial Examination of the Result of Prehabilitation Of The Outcome Of Prehabilitation On Muscle Mass, Weight, And Dietary Consumption Stratified By Hand Grip Strength In Pancreatic Cancer Patients

This intervention before surgery has been termed prehabilitation. The one known cure to pancreatic cancer is surgery. The most common surgery for pancreatic cancer, pancreaticoduodenectomy, has the highest complication rate which is why the focus was on this type of surgery. Early nutrition education and exercise intervention prior to surgery has been looked at in other types of cancers, although it has yet to be studied in pancreatic cancer patients. This is part of a larger study looking at prehabilitation on quality of life. This specific study is the preliminary analysis looking at the effect of the intervention on weight, muscle mass, and dietary intake. This study looked at 24-Hour Recall and BIA analysis at baseline and 1 month post-surgery for individuals undergoing a pancreaticoduodenectomy. Results were also analyzed following post hoc group assignments based on baseline hand grip strength. Comparisons were made to determine if nutrition education during the prehabilitation phase was beneficial overall. This is a preliminary analysis for a larger study to help better assess if further stratification needs to occur for intervention