The Innovative Business Model for Family-Owned Firms in the era of Digital Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Emerging Economy

The current Covid-19 pandemic has been changed the businesses plans. High uncertainty can compel the organization to change the business plan according to the market demand. In the current era of digitalization, organizations are needed to modify the existing business plan and innovate it through technologies. Modifying existing resources according to the market demand is challenging for the organization; employers face many challenges and obstacles. Businesses plan to develop a long-term business model to validate the attractiveness, reduce the avoidable investment of scarce resources, and structure the business process. In the current era of digitalization, businesses, specifically, SMEs cannot compete with the competitors who can adopt digitalization systems. Therefore, the current chapter is trying to find out the challenges faced by SMEs in developing economies during the adoption of the digital business model. In the current chapter, researchers focus on three different kinds of digital technologies that must be part of the business model during the era of digitalization, such as adopting digital technologies (artificial intelligence, Internet of Thing, and virtual reality and to create a new business model following the current era issue, these are the main block to resist of these market uncertainties in a new venture of family firms

A Secure and Lightweight Chaos Based Image Encryption Scheme

In this paper, we present an image encryption scheme based on the multi-stage chaos-based image encryption algorithm. The method works on the principle of confusion and diffusion. The proposed scheme containing both confusion and diffusion modules are highly secure and effective as compared to the existing schemes. Initially, an image (red, green, and blue components) is partitioned into blocks with an equal number of pixels. Each block is then processed with Tinkerbell Chaotic Map (TBCM) to get shuffled pixels and shuffled blocks. Composite Fractal Function (CFF) change the value of pixels of each color component (layer) to obtain a random sequence. Through the obtained random sequence, three layers of plain image are encrypted. Finally, with each encrypted layer, Brownian Particles (BP) are XORed that added an extra layer of security. The experimental tests including a number of statistical tests validated the security of the presented scheme. The results reported in the paper show that the proposed scheme has higher security and is lightweight as compared to state-of-the-art methods proposed in the literature

The role of urgent care centers in headache management: a quality improvement project

BACKGROUND: Patients with headache often seek urgent medical care to treat pain and associated symptoms that do not respond to therapeutic options at home. Urgent Cares (UCs) may be suitable for the evaluation and treatment of such patients but there is little data on how headache is evaluated in UC settings and what types of treatments are available. We conducted a study to evaluate the types of care available for patients with headache presenting to UCs. DESIGN: Cross-Sectional. METHODS: Headache specialists across the United States contacted UCs to collect data on a questionnaire. Questions asked about UC staffing (e.g. number and backgrounds of staff, hours of operation), average length of UC visits for headache, treatments and tests available for patients presenting with headache, and disposition including to the ED. RESULTS: Data from 10 UC programs comprised of 61 individual UC sites revealed: The vast majority (8/10; 80%) had diagnostic testing onsite for headache evaluation. A small majority (6/10; 60%) had the American Headache Society recommended intravenous medications for acute migraine available. Half (5/10) had a headache protocol in place. The majority (6/10; 60%) had no follow up policy after UC discharge. CONCLUSIONS: UCs have the potential to provide expedited care for patients presenting for evaluation and treatment of headache. However, considerable variability exists amongst UCs in their abilities to manage headaches. This study reveals many opportunities for future research including the development of protocols and professional partnerships to help guide the evaluation, triage, and treatment of patients with headache in UC settings

A Deep Learning-Based Semantic Segmentation Architecture for Autonomous Driving Applications

In recent years, the development of smart transportation has accelerated research on semantic segmentation as it is one of the most important problems in this area. A large receptive field has always been the center of focus when designing convolutional neural networks for semantic segmentation. A majority of recent techniques have used maxpooling to increase the receptive field of a network at an expense of decreasing its spatial resolution. Although this idea has shown improved results in object detection applications, however, when it comes to semantic segmentation, a high spatial resolution also needs to be considered. To address this issue, a new deep learning model, the M-Net is proposed in this paper which satisfies both high spatial resolution and a large enough receptive field while keeping the size of the model to a minimum. The proposed network is based on an encoder-decoder architecture. The encoder uses atrous convolution to encode the features at full resolution, and instead of using heavy transposed convolution, the decoder consists of a multipath feature extraction module that can extract multiscale context information from the encoded features. The experimental results reported in the paper demonstrate the viability of the proposed scheme

The prevalence of HBV infection in the cohort of IDPs of war against terrorism in Malakand Division of Northern Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis B is an important public health problem in the Pakistani population and is the major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. High prevalence of HBV infections has been observed especially in areas of low economic status. In spite of effective immunization programs, no significant change has been observed in the epidemiology of HBV in the rural areas of Pakistan (~67.5% of the total population) mainly due to lack of interest from government authorities and poor hygienic measures. The current study was aimed at estimating the prevalence and risk factors associated with HBV infection within internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to war against terrorism in the Malakand Division of Northern Pakistan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Blood samples from 950 IDPs suspected with HBV infection (including both males and females) were collected and processed with commercial ELISA kits for HBsAg, Anti HBs, HBeAg, Anti HBe antibodies. The samples positive by ELISA were confirmed for HBV DNA by real-time PCR analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of HBV observed was 21.05% of which 78.5% were males and 21.5% were females. Most confirmed HBV patients belong to the Malakand and Dir (lower) district. High-risk of infection was found in the older subjects 29.13% (46-60 years), while a lower incidence (11.97%) was observed in children aged <15 years. Lack of awareness, socioecomic conditions, sexual activities and sharing of razor blades, syringes and tattooing needles were the most common risk factors of HBV infection observed during the cohort of patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study, revealed for the first time a high degree of prevalence of HBV infection in rural areas of Northern Pakistan. The noticed prevalence is gender- and age-dependent that might be due to their high exposures to the common risk factors. To avoid the transmission of HBV infection proper awareness about the possible risk factors and extension of immunization to the rural areas are recommended.</p

Drivers of farmers’ intention to adopt integrated pest management: a case study of vegetable farmers in Pakistan

Abstract: Integrated pest management adoption is quite low around the globe, particularly in developing countries, due to different factors. Here, we examine the factors affecting the intention of Pakistani farmers to adopt integrated pest management practices in vegetable production using a structured questionnaire. We interviewed 301 vegetable growers in Multan, Pakistan. The reliability and validity of the data, along with the underlying relationship between the observed variables, were identified through exploratory factor analysis. The majority of the farmers (79.4%) relied on pesticides for pest control. More than four out of 10 of the respondents (43.8%) reported that okra received the highest application of pesticides followed by potato (24.5%) and cauliflower (17.9%). Integrated pest management was currently non‐existent among the vegetable growers of the study area. The latent factors—“knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticide,” “belief in the efficacy of non‐chemical pest control measures,” “perceived barriers to the adoption of integrated pest management,” “progressive farming approach,” and “intention to adopt integrated pest management”—were subsequently confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. The structural equation model suggested that the intention to adopt integrated pest management is significantly affected by farmers’ knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticides (β = 0.274, z‐value = 3.082, P = 0.002). An increase in farmers’ awareness of the harmful effects of pesticides could lead to integrated pest management adoption for pest control. The scale for intention to adopt integrated pest management developed in this study can be used in future studies and provide valuable insights to the policymakers for devising integrated pest management adoption campaigns in the study area

The Karachi intracranial stenosis study (KISS) Protocol: an urban multicenter case-control investigation reporting the clinical, radiologic and biochemical associations of intracranial stenosis in Pakistan.

Background: Intracranial stenosis is the most common cause of stroke among Asians. It has a poor prognosis with a high rate of recurrence. No effective medical or surgical treatment modality has been developed for the treatment of stroke due to intracranial stenosis. We aim to identify risk factors and biomarkers for intracranial stenosis and to develop techniques such as use of transcranial doppler to help diagnose intracranial stenosis in a cost-effective manner. Methods/Design: The Karachi Intracranial Stenosis Study (KISS) is a prospective, observational, case-control study to describe the clinical features and determine the risk factors of patients with stroke due to intracranial stenosis and compare them to those with stroke due to other etiologies as well as to unaffected individuals. We plan to recruit 200 patients with stroke due to intracranial stenosis and two control groups each of 150 matched individuals. The first set of controls will include patients with ischemic stroke that is due to other atherosclerotic mechanisms specifically lacunar and cardioembolic strokes. The second group will consist of stroke free individuals. Standardized interviews will be conducted to determine demographic, medical, social, and behavioral variables along with baseline medications. Mandatory procedures for inclusion in the study are clinical confirmation of stroke by a healthcare professional within 72 hours of onset, 12 lead electrocardiogram, and neuroimaging. In addition, lipid profile, serum glucose, creatinine and HbA1C will be measured in all participants. Ancillary tests will include carotid ultrasound, transcranial doppler and magnetic resonance or computed tomography angiogram to rule out concurrent carotid disease. Echocardiogram and other additional investigations will be performed at these centers at the discretion of the regional physicians. Discussion: The results of this study will help inform locally relevant clinical guidelines and effective public health and individual interventions

Time to endoscopy for acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding: results from a prospective multicentre trainee-led audit

Background: Endoscopy within 24 hours of admission (early endoscopy) is a quality standard in acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB). We aimed to audit time to endoscopy outcomes and identify factors affecting delayed endoscopy (>24h of admission).Methods: This prospective multicentre audit enrolled patients admitted with AUGIB who underwent inpatient endoscopy between Nov-Dec 2017. Analyses were performed to identify factorsassociated with delayed endoscopy, and to compare patient outcomes, including length of stay and mortality rates, between early and delayed endoscopy groups.Results: Across 348 patients from 20 centres, the median time to endoscopy was 21.2h (IQR 12.0- 35.7), comprising median admission to referral and referral to endoscopy times of 8.1h (IQR 3.7- 18.1) and 6.7h (IQR 3.0-23.1) respectively. Early endoscopy was achieved in 58.9%, although this varied by centre (range: 31.0% - 87.5%, p=0.002). On multivariable analysis, lower Glasgow-Blatchford score, delayed referral, admissions between 7am-7pm or via the Emergency Department were independent predictors of delayed endoscopy. Early endoscopy was associated with reduced length of stay (median difference 1d; p= 0.004), but not 30-day mortality (p=0.344).Conclusions: The majority of centres did not meet national standards for time to endoscopy. Strategic initiatives involving acute care services may be necessary to improve this outcome

The role of selectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus for human genetic profiles in susceptibility and resistance to COVID-19

Recently observed similarities in COVID-19 susceptibility among genetically related individuals hints at a selectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that hinges on the affinity for select genetic profiles prevalent in the human species. The selectivity determines susceptibility of clinical disease and extent of pathogenesis, including fatal lung and myocardial injury, and may be more cogent than the recently reported risk factors. The selectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus for human genetic profiles as a factor of the virulence appears to be a novel feature and was not previously noted in the epidemics of widespread viral respiratory illnesses in humans