Effect of Leverage on Stock Returns and Systematic Risk: Evidence from Pakistani Industries

This paper evaluates the effect of leverage on stock returns and systematic risk in the corporate sector of Pakistan. It determines the relationship between leverage and systematic risk. Data was collected from eight industries such as; Cotton, Engineering, Chemicals, Sugar and Allied, Cement, Fuel and Energy, and transport and Communications. High leverage was experienced which leaded to high level of systematic risk and volatility in the stock prices

Co-movement between Exchange Rate Fluctuations and Economic Factors in Pakistan’s Economy (1990-2013)

Prior to 1976, business community of the world followed gold as a stable standard exchange rate for international business. After flexible exchange rate system implemented in the world in 1976, different solutions for stabilizing the exchange rate system were introduced to reduce the effects of exchange rate fluctuations on business. Pakistan and US Economy relies on trade for improving its GDP, lowering inflation rate and enhancing the economy of the Country. However if the trade balance is sufficient but the exchange rate fluctuation is significant then GDP would decrease instead of increasing and the economy might be negatively affected. It is understandable that imports of Pakistan are more than its exports and if exchange rate also fluctuates between Pakistan and the imported country then the country economy would disturb. Due to this imbalance in import/export, Pakistan relies on different institutions like IMF, World Bank, etc. These loans many help in balance of payment, partial stability but on the same time depreciate the economy if Pakistan. These loans are in the form of US dollars and Pakistani rupees are mostly associated with US dollars. Pakistan economy suffers a setback when these loans are returned. This paper looks as to how exchange rate fluctuations between Pakistan and USA and affects Pakistan’s economy and what are the factors which are disturbed due to exchange rate fluctuations between the two countries

Effects of Hepatitis C on Hematological Parameters in local areas of Mirpurkhas

Introduction: Various diseases have emerged as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HCV) confection, now that antiretroviral therapies become more effective e and has prolonged life expectancy in HIV-infected patients1. One of the most frequently identified extra-hepatic abnormalities often seen at the time of diagnosis of HIV is the hematological abnormalityObjective: To determine possible effects of Hepatitis C in local Population of MirpurkhasMethodology:140 diagnosed patients of Hepatitis C were selected from OPD/Ward MMCH and Civil Hospital Mirpurkhas, Patients of Hypertension, Heart Failure, Renal diseases and respiratory disease were excluded Their ALT, GGT, Alk Sodium was determined by kit method. Their RBC count, TLC, Platelet Count was counted and ESR was determinedResults: It was a prospective study and out of 140 hepatitis C patients 86 were male and 54 were female. The mean age was 54.77 ± 14.046 years. The mean height was 159.42 ± 11.188 cm and the mean weight was 53.69±10.604 Kgs. The mean BMI was calculated as 21.235 ± 5.0607 kgs/m2 (Table.1). The mean Hemoglobin was estimated as 10.639± 2.6924 gm% the mean RBC count was found 3.832 ± .8460 millions/cmm. The mean total leukocyte count was 9111.63 ± 4612.845 per cmm and the mean Platelet count was 160447.67 ± 93788.194 /dl. the mean ESR was 51.70 ± 26.320 (Table.2) The mean Alkaline phosphatase was 273.76± 96.818 IU, the mean GGT was 83.40 ± 102.650 IU and the mean ALT was 74.98 ± 58.614 IU. (Table.3.) The Correlation of hepatitis C was estimated by Pearson’s correlation using SPSS 15 and found that hepatitis has a significant correlation with Hemoglobin, RBC count, TLC and Platelet count (r=.167, .165, .181, 238 and p=.092̽*, .031*, 018* and .002** respectively) and it has an inverse correlation with ESR (r=-.213, p=.005**)Conclusion: Our data shows that hepatitis C has positive correlation with Hb, RBC Count, TLC and Platelet count while the hepatitis has a significant inverse correlation with ESR. More work is required to establish criteria regarding correlation between Hepatitis C and Hematological parameter

Sosyal ağ analizi

Finding possible maximal cliques in a given graph is one of the basic problems of graph theory. Although the enumeration of maximal cliques in a graph is an NP-hard problem, various algorithms and novel methods for this problem have been proposed. In some application’s largest possible maximal cliques i.e. maximum cliques play an important role. This study proposes a new algorithm that finds maximum cliques in a graph. The proposed algorithm is applied to different real-world datasets to find them. Moreover, this study proposes two versions of the algorithm; one finds all possible maximum cliques, and the other finds only one maximum clique in a given graph. To evaluate the performance, the results of the proposed study are compared with the well-known Born Kerbosch algorithm. As a result, it is found that the proposed algorithm performs better than the Born Kerbosch method. Keywords-Verilen bir çizgede olası maksimum klikleri bulmak, çizge kuramının temel problemlerinden biridir. Bir çizgede maksimal kliklerin numaralandırılması NP-zor bir problem olsa da, bu problem için çeşitli algoritmalar ve yeni yöntemler önerilmiştir. Bazı uygulamalarda mümkün olan en büyük maksimal klikler, yani maksimum klikler, önemli bir rol oynar. Bu çalışma, bir çizgede maksimum klikler bulan yeni bir algoritma önermektedir. Önerilen algoritma, onları bulmak için farklı gerçek dünya veri kümelerine uygulanır. Ayrıca bu çalışma, algoritmanın iki versiyonunu önermektedir; biri tüm olası maksimum klikleri bulur ve diğeri belirli bir grafikte yalnızca bir maksimum klik bulur. Performansı değerlendirmek için, önerilen çalışmanın sonuçları iyi bilinen Bron Kerbosch algoritması ile karşılaştırılır. Sonuç olarak, önerilen algoritmanın Bron Kerbosch yönteminden daha iyi performans gösterdiği görülmüştür.No sponso

Sosyal ağ analizi

Finding possible maximal cliques in a given graph is one of the basic problems of graph theory. Although the enumeration of maximal cliques in a graph is an NP-hard problem, various algorithms and novel methods for this problem have been proposed. In some application’s largest possible maximal cliques i.e. maximum cliques play an important role. This study proposes a new algorithm that finds maximum cliques in a graph. The proposed algorithm is applied to different real-world datasets to find them. Moreover, this study proposes two versions of the algorithm; one finds all possible maximum cliques, and the other finds only one maximum clique in a given graph. To evaluate the performance, the results of the proposed study are compared with the well-known Born Kerbosch algorithm. As a result, it is found that the proposed algorithm performs better than the Born Kerbosch method. Keywords-Verilen bir çizgede olası maksimum klikleri bulmak, çizge kuramının temel problemlerinden biridir. Bir çizgede maksimal kliklerin numaralandırılması NP-zor bir problem olsa da, bu problem için çeşitli algoritmalar ve yeni yöntemler önerilmiştir. Bazı uygulamalarda mümkün olan en büyük maksimal klikler, yani maksimum klikler, önemli bir rol oynar. Bu çalışma, bir çizgede maksimum klikler bulan yeni bir algoritma önermektedir. Önerilen algoritma, onları bulmak için farklı gerçek dünya veri kümelerine uygulanır. Ayrıca bu çalışma, algoritmanın iki versiyonunu önermektedir; biri tüm olası maksimum klikleri bulur ve diğeri belirli bir grafikte yalnızca bir maksimum klik bulur. Performansı değerlendirmek için, önerilen çalışmanın sonuçları iyi bilinen Bron Kerbosch algoritması ile karşılaştırılır. Sonuç olarak, önerilen algoritmanın Bron Kerbosch yönteminden daha iyi performans gösterdiği görülmüştür.No sponso

Failure factors of Makkah’s mega construction projects: qualitative study

Makkah city in Saudi Arabia is the holiest place for all Muslims across the world due to the presence of Masjid Al-Haram where the “KAABA” is located. In the holy city of Makkah, mega construction projects are currently under construction to accommodate the increased numbers of pilgrims. These mega projects faced many impediments and challenges to be completed successfully. Hence, this paper presents an investigative study on failure factors of mega Makkah construction projects, particularly from the site management viewpoint. The insight issues are based on interview with senior manager having 15 years of working experiences in handling mega construction projects. The interview was carried out on open-ended mode where ample time was given to the respondent to express his experienced in handling Saudi’s construction projects. This study uncovered that 50 % of project failure is due to contractor, 30% is due to client/PMC (Project Management Consultant), 15% is due to supervision consultant and 5% is due external factors. It also identified 58 failure factors and clustered in 4 groups in which the group are Client Instigated Factors with 17 failure factors, Contractor Instigated Factors with 27 failure factors, Consultant Instigated Factors with 10 failure factors and External Instigated Factors with 4 failure factors. The findings are helpful for construction community as well as to researchers to understand the insightful issues engulfing construction projects in Makkah city

Failure factors of Makkah’s mega construction projects: qualitative study

Makkah city in Saudi Arabia is the holiest place for all Muslims across the world due to the presence of Masjid Al-Haram where the “KAABA” is located. In the holy city of Makkah, mega construction projects are currently under construction to accommodate the increased numbers of pilgrims. These mega projects faced many impediments and challenges to be completed successfully. Hence, this paper presents an investigative study on failure factors of mega Makkah construction projects, particularly from the site management viewpoint. The insight issues are based on interview with senior manager having 15 years of working experiences in handling mega construction projects. The interview was carried out on open-ended mode where ample time was given to the respondent to express his experienced in handling Saudi’s construction projects. This study uncovered that 50 % of project failure is due to contractor, 30% is due to client/PMC (Project Management Consultant), 15% is due to supervision consultant and 5% is due external factors. It also identified 58 failure factors and clustered in 4 groups in which the group are Client Instigated Factors with 17 failure factors, Contractor Instigated Factors with 27 failure factors, Consultant Instigated Factors with 10 failure factors and External Instigated Factors with 4 failure factors. The findings are helpful for construction community as well as to researchers to understand the insightful issues engulfing construction projects in Makkah city

Tobacco craving and withdrawal symptoms in psychiatric patients during a motivational enhancement intervention based on a 26-hour smoking abstinence period

In psychiatric patients, tobacco withdrawal symptoms are frequently seen as a barrier to smoking cessation; however, further studies are warranted in this specific population. METHODS Patients receiving in- or out-patient mental health care participated in a motivational enhancement program including a 26-hour tobacco abstinence experience with professional support and optional nicotine replacement therapy. The study included 174 subjects, of whom 159 were evaluated 1 week before and at the end of the 26-hour abstinence period. Repeated assessments included the Minnesota Nicotine Tobacco Withdrawal Scale Revised (MNWS-R), two items of the Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS) regarding craving, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21), and the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5)

Withdrawal symptoms upon a short motivational 26-hour smoking abstinence program in psychiatric patients

Background Concerns about withdrawal effects and worsening of mental health conditions are barriers to proposing smoking cessation to psychiatric patients. Methods The study included 156 smokers who attended public psychiatric services and participated in a motivational intervention that included a 26-hour tobacco abstinence period and other components*. Carbon monoxide levels and withdrawal symptoms (MNWS) were evaluated at pre- (3 days before), during (9 hr and 26 hr abstinence) and post-intervention (7 days after). Results Irritability, anxiety, depressed mood and concentration difficulties significantly decreased during the intervention (pre- and 26 hr comparison), both for patients who did and did not succeed with smoking abstinence. Whereas craving decreased for those who succeeded, it remained elevated for those not succeeding. [MNWS scores (0-4)] Conclusions Results are at odds with usual observations of increased discomfort associated with smoke deprivation and suggest that mental health patients may tolerate short abstinence periods, without worsening of their mental health condition. Although not systematically observed, craving may remain an obstacle for a subgroup of patients. We hypothesize that behavioural associations, habits and environmental factors could be more important obstacles when stopping smoking than usual withdrawal effects. _________ *Keizer, I., Gex-Fabry, M., Croquette, P. and Khan, A. N. (2016). A Short Motivational Program Based on Temporary Smoking Abstinence: Towards Increased Self-Efficacy to Quit in Psychiatric Inpatients . Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 7:4