Study of Investment Decisions and Personal Characteristics through Risk Tolerance: Moderating Role of Investment Experience

Investment decisions could be affected by behavioral biases associated with personal characteristics. This study empirically investigates the effect of personal characteristics on investors’ investment decision through risk tolerance. Furthermore, investment experience moderates the nexus between personal characteristics and risk tolerance. The scale consisting of 24 items was used related to selected constructs and variables. Data was collected form 175 individual investors of Pakistan Stock Exchange. PLS-SEM was used to make statistical analysis. The findings indicate that extraversion has substantial positive impact on investment decisions. Moreover, risk tolerance partially mediates the relationship between extroversion and investment decisions. The relationship between introversion and investment decisions is negative and risk tolerance partially mediates the aforesaid relationship. Furthermore, it is statistically proved that investment experience substantially moderates the association between extraversion and risk tolerance. However, investment experience does not play any conditional role in the association between introversion and risk tolerance. This study can be helpful for financial advisors to provide best consultancy to their clients (investors), while considering their personal characteristics

Comparison of percutaneous nephrostomy and double j stent in early normalization of renal function tests in patients with obstructive uropathy due to urolithiasis

Objective:  To compare the mean normalization period of serum levels of urea and creatinine after placement of PCN tube or a DJ stent as emergency management for obstructive uropathy due to urolithiasis. Methodology: A randomized controlled trial study is conducted in the Institute of Kidney Diseases, Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar from March 2018 - March 2019. The total sample of 416 was divided into two groups by the lottery method. Group A comprising of 208 patients who underwent Percutaneous Nephrostomy (PCN) and Group B Comprising of 208 in who underwent Double J Stenting for the relief of the obstructive uropathy respectively.  Serum levels of urea and creatinine were recorded at 24, 96 and 144 hours post-operatively. Results: The mean age of Group A 35.6 ± 8.4 years and the Mean age in Group B was 38.2± 10.4 years. The majority (76.6%) participants were male, including 70% were from PCN group and 79% were from DJ group. The time taken for normalization of serum urea level was 97.654 hours (4.068 days) and 106.453 hours (4.435 days) in the PCN and DJ stenting groups respectively. The normalization time of serum creatinine level was 95.4375 hours (3.98 days) and 104.8125 hours (4.36 days) in the patients undergoing PCN and DJ stenting respectively. The differences of normalization time in both groups were not statistically significant with p-values of 0.064 and 0.061 for normalization of serum urea and creatinine levels respectively. Conclusion: Both the PCN and DJ stenting methods were equally effective in stone management in obstructive uropathy patients for normalization of elevated serum urea and creatinine levels

Effectiveness of EUA colour Coding system in Urological Procedures during COVID-19: Experience at Institute of Kidney Diseases Peshawar Pakistan

Objective: To study effectiveness of EUA colour coding system in performing   urological procedures during COVID-19 Methodology: It is descriptive Study during three waves of COVID 19,  conducted  in Department of Urology  at Institute of Kidney Diseases Hayatabad Peshawar, Pakistan from March 24, 2020 till March 30, 2021. Total numbers of 3066 operated patients were included in the study. We followed the EUA guidelines of color coding for prioritization of surgical procedures.  All the data of the patients and doctors were recorded on structured proforma and was analyzed on SPSS version 20. Results" Total numbers of 3066 surgeries were performed during three waves of COVID 19, that included 937 (30.5 %)) emergency Procedures with code black , 1272 (59.74%) high Priority labeled as code red,  636 (29.8%)  as code yellow in intermediate priority and 221 (10.3%) as code green in. Regarding emergency surgeries code black, Obstructive uropathy remained high with 566 patients (60.4 %) patients, Pyonephrosis in 187(19.9%),  Genito-urinary trauma in 93 (9.9%), miscellaneous in 91 (9.7%).  The 1272 patients with high priority were dominated by Complicated Urolithiasis and High grade Urooncology. The preoperative nasopharyngeal PCR of 206 patients (22 %) in emergency procedures came positive for COVID-19. The rate of positive  seroconvesrion was recorded in  82(6%) in high and 9 (1.5%)in  intermediate priority and no seroconvesrion was recorded in code green . Conclusion:The EUA guidelines is a useful tool in prioritization of urological procedure

HUMANITY UNFRAMED: A SOCIO-SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL CARTOON ON ISRAEL-PALESTINE CONFLICT

Israel-Palestine conflict is embedded with multifaceted layers of historical, political, and socio-economic complexities which has led to widespread violence, displacement, and human rights violation. This study conducts a socio-semiotic analysis of a political cartoon published in The Guardian UK newspaper, during The October 7 War, 2023. The aim is to explore how the cartoon portrays the humanitarian crisis in Palestine. Visual and textual elements both within the selected cartoon are scrutinized using Kress and Van Leeuwan’s Visual Grammar framework to effectively convey its meaning. This study intents to evoke empathy, critique, and solidarity for the civilians impacted by the crisis, through an in-depth investigation of representational, interactive, compositional and contextual meaning of the cartoon, including modality, perspective and framing techniques used by the cartoonist. The results show that the political cartoons serve as a powerful source of visual communication, condensing intricate political and social matters into concise, frequently satirical, and visually captivating depictions. By unravelling the semiotic resources embedded in the cartoon, this study deepens our understanding of how visual communication influences discourse surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict and its humanitarian aspect

Kinetics and synthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) by a putative-mutant of Bacillus licheniformis

Abstract The present study deals with the kinetics of improved poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) production by an L-cysteine HCl-depressed mutant of Bacillus licheniformis. Production of biodegradable polymers is to eliminate use of materials derived from petrochemicals and also because of their environmental impact. For the current study, mutant strain (NA-21) & wild-type (IIB-isl19) were used for PHB production. Submerged culture with two-stage fermentation technique was used for PHB production. Results indicated that PHB production was improved with 300 mM of –HNO2. The superior mutant strain (NA-21) resulted in 2-fold more PHB as compared to the wild-type (IIB-isl9). It was selected, and resistance against L-cysteine HCl was developed. At 4 ppm concentration of L-cysteine HCl, PHB production by mutant strain (NA-cys4) was higher than its wild counterpart by 5.7-fold. Kinetic study of parameters including specific growth rate (µ h− 1), growth (Yx/s,Ys/x), product yield coefficients (Yp/s,Yp/x), volumetric rate constants (Qp, Qs, Qx) and specific rate constants (qp, qs, qx), were also accomplished. Moreover, Yp/x, Qp and qp = µ × Yp/x were found to be very significant as 1.254 ± 0.06 (g/g biomass), 0.134 ± 0.01 (g/l/h) and 0.168 ± 0.01 (g/g/h), respectively. The effect of fatty acids on PHB production highlighted the improvement in PHB production by 1.94-fold. The highest PHB production during the study was 16.35 ± 3.12 g/l which highlighted its significance (p ≤ 0.05) and impact on the overall process. The variation in PBH yield between wild-type and mutant B. licheniformis is possibly because of induced DNA interstrand thus making unstable thymidine-thymidine dymers. From the results, it was concluded that improved PHB production on industrial scale is fairly possible and it holds the potential to contribute significantly to plastic circularity in the future

A Study on Bioaccumulation of Two Heavy Metals in Pastures Irrigated with Wastewater and Translocation in Grazing Ruminants Through Forages: Public Health Implications

Copper and zinc play a very important role in plant development, but exposure at higher concentrations causes severe toxic effects. Copper (Cu) is an essential element for plants as it is involved in the synthesis of ATP and CO2 assimilation, while zinc (Zn) stimulates several enzymes and is necessary for the biosynthesis of chlorophyll. The present research appraised the Cu and Zn concentrations in water, soil, forages (Trifolium repens, Cynodon dactylon, Lolium perenne, and Festuca arundinacea), milk, and hair samples of buffaloes. The samples were collected from the selected sites of Tehsil Bhalwal Punjab, Pakistan, and analyzed through an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The concentration of Cu ranged from 0.80 to 2.98 mgL-1 in water, 5.940 to 14.900 mgkg-1 in soil, 2.300 to 8.990 mgkg-1 in forages, 0.0054 to 1.90 mgL-1 in milk, and 1.10 to 5.900 mgkg-1 in hair samples respectively. The range of Zn varied from 0.100 to 1.50 mgL-1 in water, 21.500 to 36.700 mgkg-1in soil, 16.700 to 39.980 mgkg-1 in forage, 1.381 to 7.80 mgL-1 in milk, and 0.240 to 2.755 mgkg-1 in hair respectively. The assessment of the bio-concentration factor, daily intake of metal, pollution load index, enrichment factor, and health risk index were also highlighted in this study. The BCF of Zn and PLI of Cu were noted as greater than 1, while the other indices were found to be less than 1, indicating that forages cultivated in water-rich soil are not harmful, therefore heavy metal analysis was necessary to assess the environmental contamination