Influence of single and multiple dry bands on critical flashover voltage of silicone rubber outdoor insulators: simulation and experimental study

Dry band formation on the surface of outdoor insulators is one of the main reasons leading to flashover and power outages. In this paper, a dynamic arc model is proposed for single and multiple dry bands configuration to predict the critical flashover voltage for silicone rubber outdoor insulators. An arc is modelled as a time dependent impedance consisting of a Resistor Inductor Capacitor (RLC) circuit. The effect of dry band location and existence of multiple dry bands on critical flashover voltage is investigated. To validate the proposed model, experiments were conducted in a climate chamber under controlled environmental conditions on rectangular silicone rubber sheets polluted using improved solid layer method based on IEC 60,507. Tests were conducted at different dry band configurations and pollution severity levels. A good correlation was found between experimental results and simulation results. This model can provide a good foundation for the development of mathematical models for station post insulators having multiple dry and clean bands and can be used in the design and selection of outdoor insulators for polluted conditions

Storage Solutions for Big Data Systems: A Qualitative Study and Comparison

Big data systems development is full of challenges in view of the variety of application areas and domains that this technology promises to serve. Typically, fundamental design decisions involved in big data systems design include choosing appropriate storage and computing infrastructures. In this age of heterogeneous systems that integrate different technologies for optimized solution to a specific real world problem, big data system are not an exception to any such rule. As far as the storage aspect of any big data system is concerned, the primary facet in this regard is a storage infrastructure and NoSQL seems to be the right technology that fulfills its requirements. However, every big data application has variable data characteristics and thus, the corresponding data fits into a different data model. This paper presents feature and use case analysis and comparison of the four main data models namely document oriented, key value, graph and wide column. Moreover, a feature analysis of 80 NoSQL solutions has been provided, elaborating on the criteria and points that a developer must consider while making a possible choice. Typically, big data storage needs to communicate with the execution engine and other processing and visualization technologies to create a comprehensive solution. This brings forth second facet of big data storage, big data file formats, into picture. The second half of the research paper compares the advantages, shortcomings and possible use cases of available big data file formats for Hadoop, which is the foundation for most big data computing technologies. Decentralized storage and blockchain are seen as the next generation of big data storage and its challenges and future prospects have also been discussed

Combined Endodontic and Surgical Management of Twin Rooted Maxillary Lateral Incisor with a Palatogingival Groove

A case of unusual anatomy in a maxillary lateral incisor is presented. A 20-year old female presented with failing endodontics. Clinical examination and radiographs revealed poorly obturated maxillary left lateral incisor with an untreated patent second root and a palatogingival groove. A decision was made to treat the tooth non-surgically. After removing gutta-percha from main canal, the orifice of second root could not be located from inside the chamber. After determining the position of this root to be mesial and palatal to main canal, gingival tissue was removed from mesio-palatal side and access was extended to include the cingulum and orifice was located mesio-palatally. This canal was mechanically prepared and both canals were filled with calcium hydroxide. Three weeks later when symptoms subsided, the canals were obturated using the warm vertical technique. However, patient returned after a month complaining of pain and pus discharge. The tooth was surgically retreated; the enucleation was performed without root end resection. Patient returned after two years and reported complete healing but with mild discoloration of crown which was treated with walking bleach technique.Keywords:Aberrant Anatomy; Accessory Root; Maxillary Lateral Incisor; Retreatment; Two Roots

FACTORS DETERMINING CUSTOMERS’ ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION TOWARDS ISLAMIC BANKING PRACTICES IN MALAKAND DIVISION

Islamic banking, being an integral component of Islamic financial system, gained an exceptional popularity over the last three decades. The higher rate of growth of Islamic banking has proved it as a best alternative to Riba based banking. Like the other industries; in Islamic banking industry, customers are the most integral part of the organization strategies. Various authors endured to examine the perception and attitude of customers from one aspect or another. It is evident form the literature that the determining factors of attitude and perceptions are varying from country to country. Keeping in view the phenomenon under question, the basic objective of this study is to examine the factors determining customers’ attitude and perception towards Islamic banking practices in Malakand division. Previous studies focused on the urban areas and big cities of Pakistan, Malakand division is selected as study region as majority of the population lives in rural areas of the country. Three districts of Dir (lower), Malakand and Swat are selected as sample for data collection. Data is collected through survey questionnaires from 300 customers of Islamic banking branches operating in the study region. Questionnaire is adapted from previous studies. Correlation, and Regression are used for analysis the data.Results of the study show that all five variables have significant positive relationship with customers’ attitude. However, awareness and Shariah compliance show a negative relationship with perceptions of customers. Furthermore, Religiosity is the most dominant determinant of the customers’ attitude and perception, followed by bank image & reputation and social Influence. Customers give lesser importance to Shariah compliance and awareness as determinant of their attitude and perception towards Islamic banking practices.The results of the study are expected to benefit the banking industry in general and bankers in specific. The bankers would be able to attract more and more customers by focusing on the key determinants. The results assist the policy makers in designing, revision and implementation of the policies to satisfy the needs of the customers of the region.  The study is also beneficial to the society at large, as more and easy investment and financing facilities would be available to them. Furthermore, due to awareness and information to the bankers and customers; more and more job or business opportunities would be available to the local community and thus unemployment would be eliminated

FACTORS DETERMINING CUSTOMERS’ ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION TOWARDS ISLAMIC BANKING PRACTICES IN MALAKAND DIVISION

Islamic banking, being an integral component of Islamic financial system, gained an exceptional popularity over the last three decades. The higher rate of growth of Islamic banking has proved it as a best alternative to Riba based banking. Like the other industries; in Islamic banking industry, customers are the most integral part of the organization strategies. Various authors endured to examine the perception and attitude of customers from one aspect or another. It is evident form the literature that the determining factors of attitude and perceptions are varying from country to country. Keeping in view the phenomenon under question, the basic objective of this study is to examine the factors determining customers’ attitude and perception towards Islamic banking practices in Malakand division. Previous studies focused on the urban areas and big cities of Pakistan, Malakand division is selected as study region as majority of the population lives in rural areas of the country. Three districts of Dir (lower), Malakand and Swat are selected as sample for data collection. Data is collected through survey questionnaires from 300 customers of Islamic banking branches operating in the study region. Questionnaire is adapted from previous studies. Correlation, and Regression are used for analysis the data.Results of the study show that all five variables have significant positive relationship with customers’ attitude. However, awareness and Shariah compliance show a negative relationship with perceptions of customers. Furthermore, Religiosity is the most dominant determinant of the customers’ attitude and perception, followed by bank image & reputation and social Influence. Customers give lesser importance to Shariah compliance and awareness as determinant of their attitude and perception towards Islamic banking practices.The results of the study are expected to benefit the banking industry in general and bankers in specific. The bankers would be able to attract more and more customers by focusing on the key determinants. The results assist the policy makers in designing, revision and implementation of the policies to satisfy the needs of the customers of the region.  The study is also beneficial to the society at large, as more and easy investment and financing facilities would be available to them. Furthermore, due to awareness and information to the bankers and customers; more and more job or business opportunities would be available to the local community and thus unemployment would be eliminated

An analysis of the asymmetric impact of exchange rate changes on G.D.P. in Pakistan: application of non-linear A.R.D.L.

Exchange rate fluctuations play a vital role in influencing macro- economic variables including economic growth via the channels of net exports and investments. This study claims to be the first in assessing the asymmetric effect of exchange rate fluctuations on G.D.P. in Pakistan whose currency had the title of‘worst currency of South Asia’in 2018 after more than 20% depreciation in just three months. In this study, we employ a recently developed technique of Non-linear A.R.D.L. by Shin, Yu, and Greenwood-Nimmo (2014) to test for possible asymmetric effect of exchange rate on G.D.P. along with the proxies of fiscal and monetary policies. Both A.R.D.L. and N.A.R.D.L. are applied on annual data range from 1972 to 2014. The results of A.R.D.L. are found poor and co-integration relationship lost when the assumption of symmetry is taken into consideration. On the contrary, Non-linear A.R.D.L. technique carry more rich information related to the issue at hand and co-integration relationship is confirmed. From the results we found that week currency hurts G.D.P. growth, while strong currency adds to growth. Besides these, we confirm asymmetric impact of exchange rate on G.D.P. growth in Pakistan and find the evidence of short-run, long-run and adjustment asymmetry. To achieve the objective of sustained growth, exchange rate management should focus to restore stability and go for more strong currency in Pakistan. Future research needs to consider capital flows and exchange rate regimes in the form of‘Sudden Stop hypothesis’ when investigating the asymmetric impact of exchange rate

Phytochemical and cytotoxic analysis of Pharthenium hysterophosis selected from District Bannu, Pakistan

Parthenium hysterophorus is a well known medicinal plant widely used traditionally in the treatment of various diseases and as a constituent of various drugs, and in phytotherapy. The current study was designed to investigate the phytochemical screening and cytotoxic capacity of methanolic and n-hexane extract of P. hysterophorus. Quantitative analysis of P. hysterophorus showed maximum quantity of flavonoids in methanolic extract of P. hysterophorus which turned down gradually in n-hexane extract of P. hysterophorus due to the decrease in organic solvents polarity. Similar results were also observed for saponins and tannins during this investigation. The highest quantity of alkaloids was recorded in the methanolic extract of P. hysterophorus when compared to n-hexane extract. The extracts also showed maximum cytotoxic potential in various concentrations of n-hexane and methanolic extract of P. hysterophorus. The results revealed that P. hysterophorus contains a remarkable cytotoxic activity due to the presence of bioactive constituents.Key words: Parthenium hysterophorus, cytotoxic, phytochemical screening

Development And Characterization Of Lopinavir And Verapamil Hclloaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLC)

Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk menyediakan pembawa lipid nanostruktur (NLC) lopinavir (tidak larutair) dan verapamil (larut air). NLC disediakan dengan menggunakan lipid pepejal (compritol 888 ATO), lipid cecair (asid oleik), dan surfaktan (poloxamer 188 dan Tween 80) The aim of the present study was to prepare nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) of lopinavir (water insoluble) and verapamil (water soluble). NLCs were prepared using solid lipid (e.g. compritol 888 ATO), liquid lipid (e.g. oleic acid), and surfactants (e.g. poloxamer 188 and tween 80

High Involvement Management Practices and Employees’ OCBs in Banking Sector of Pakistan

This study was designed to evaluate the impact of high involvement HRM practices (HIHRP) on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) in the context of banking sector of Pakistan. OCBs is considered as an important construct to evaluate the contextual performance of employees. In case of banking sector professionals, it is a highly desired behavior and top management has a greater interest in evaluating contextual performance in addition to the task performance of employees. This study differentiates itself from previous studies by focusing on HIHRP rather than traditional HRM practices. The data was collected from 396 officers working in top six private sector commercial banks of Pakistan. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and all responses were recorded on Likert scale. The data was analyzed through correlation and regression analysis and demographic characteristics of the employees were also presented through descriptive statistical techniques. The results show that different types of HIHRP positively influences employees’ OCBs. This study has both theoretical and managerial contributions by empirically examining the relationship between high involvement HRM practices and OCBs in the context of banking sector of Pakistan. The results of this study will help the researchers to better understand the relationship between HRM practices employees’ positive behavioral outcomes like OCBs. In addition, it will also guide the decision makers in adjusting HRM practices to achieve desired behaviors