Corporate Governance, Firm Age, and Leverage: Empirical Evidence from China

This study aims to analyze the influence of corporate governance on firm leverage. It also investigates the moderating effect of firm age on the association between corporate governance and leverage. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms, it addresses several issues that have been identified in the prior literature regarding capital structure. This study provides novel findings which reveal that CEO duality and board commissions have a statistically significant role in determining the leverage levels for NSOEs, however, the positive effect of board commissions established on leverage decreases as the firm ages. Board size, board independence and supervisory boards influence the leverage levels for SOEs, however, the negative effects of board independence and supervisory boards on leverage reduce as the firm grows older. Keywords: Corporate governance, leverage, firm age, Chinese listed firms DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-2-0

Workplace incivility and turnover intention among nurses of public healthcare system in Pakistan

Though workplace incivility is a negative behavioral phenomenon that has infiltrated almost every sector, yet, less investigated in the healthcare sector. The healthcare sector is the backbone for economic and well-being for any nation and mainly composed of nurses. Turnover among nurses is a serious challenge to public healthcare facilities in terms of management, financing, and service quality. Based on the COR theory, this study capitalizes investigation on the effects of incivility on turnover intention through burnout and occupational stress. Simple random sampling was deployed on a sample of 265 nurses from 24 public hospitals of Sindh in Pakistan. Data analysis through partial least square and results revealed that workplace incivility has insignificant relation with turnover intention. Whereas, incivility has a significant indirect relationship with turnover intention through burnout and occupational stress. This study suggests that emotional and occupational depletion in public healthcare is high due to incivility at the workplace. Thus, HR managers must devise policies to practice civil behavior to curtail turnover intention problem among nurses. Besides practical benefits, some limitations with potential future research directions are discussed in the end

Treatment of Complex Fistula in Ano with Cable-Tie Seton: A Prospective Case Series

Objective. To determine the fecal incontinence and recurrence rate in patients with complex fistula in ano managed with cable tie seton at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods. This is a prospective case series of patients with complex anal fistula i.e. recurrent fistula or encircling >30% of external anal sphincter, managed with cable tie seton from March 2003 to March 2009. Patients were seen in the clinic after 72 hours of seton insertion under anesthesia and then every other week. Each time the cable-tie was tightened if found loose without anesthesia and incontinence was inquired according to wexner's score. Results. Seventy nine patients were treated during the study period with the age (mean ± standard deviation) of 41 ± 10.6 years and. The seton was tightened with a median of six times (3–15 times range). Complete healing was achieved in 11.2 ± 5.7 weeks. All the patients were followed for a minimum period of one year and none of the patients had any incontinence. Recurrence was found in 4 (5%) patients. Conclusion. The cable tie seton is safe, cost effective and low morbidity option for the treatment of complex fistulae-in-ano. It can, therefore, be recommended as the standard of treatment for complex fistulae-in-ano requiring the placement of a seton

Phenolic Acids Composition of Fruit Extracts of Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana L., var. Golo Lemai)

Fruits of Ziziphus mauritiana L. (ber) are consumed in fresh and dried/processed form in many countries across Asia including Pakistan. In the present study, we analyzed the composition of total phenolic acids (free, soluble-bound and insoluble-bound) from ber fruit extracts by applying a pressurized liquid base hydrolysis extraction (PLBHE) using Dionium cells. Nine phenolic acids (protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic, ferulic, chlorogenic, vanillic, caffeic, vanillin, o- and p-coumaric acids) were extracted, separated, and quantified by HPLC-DAD. Identification of phenolic acids was achieved by comparison of retention times, ultraviolet, and mass spectral data with authentic commercial standards. Results showed that p-coumaric acid (3719 ± 22 µg/g) was the predominant phenolic acid extracted from ber samples. In addition, four phenolic acids, namely p-hydroxybenzoic (2187 ± 71 µg/g), vanillin (2128 ± 20 µg/g), ferulic (2629 ± 96 µg/g), and o-coumaric acids (2569 ± 41 µg/g) were obtained in intermediate amounts from dried Ziziphus mauritiana L. fruit. The total phenolic acids content was determined as 18231 ± 306 µg/g dry matter basis (DMB). This study indicates that ber fruit is a good natural source of phenolic acids and that PLBHE can be used for the assay of phenolic acids

Synthesis of metal organic framework (MOF-5) embedded cryogel composite and its application for the extraction and determination of cholesterol from milk samples

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)/coordination polymers (CPs) are a new class of hybrid inorganic/organic porous material. Recently MOFs have attracted much attention due to their large surface area, tunable pore structure, and high thermal stability. MOF-5 is composed of zinc salt and 1,4 benzene dicarboxylic linker. In the current study, MOF-5/cryogel composite was applied to extract cholesterol selectively from milk samples. This extraction process was used to clean-up milk samples with MOF-5/cryogel composite followed by determination of cholesterol in milk using UV-Vis spectrophotometric technique. The parameters such as concentration of cholesterol, volume of cholesterol solution, adsorbent amount, adsorption and desorption time were studied to obtain good extraction of cholesterol. The amount of cholesterol adsorbed and desorbed was 84 and 80%, respectively, from milk samples using MOF-5 composite cryogel. The developed method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection, and quantification. The response was linear in the range of 5-200 µg/mL with a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.990. Detection limit (0.15 µg/mL) and quantification (0.45 µg/mL) were obtained

Prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females: a cross sectional study from Pakistan

Objective: To explore the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females. Method: The survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools of the Kotri Taulka of Jamshoro District in Sindh, Pakistan, from October to December 2019, and comprised healthy female adolescents aged 1019 years. Data about demographic and anthropometric factors was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: There were 393 subjects with mean age 14.93±2.18 years, mean weight 45.9±8.85kg, and mean height 151.6±6.25cm. The prevalence of stunting and thinness was 127(32.31%) and 42(10.68%) respectively. Stunting was more frequent in participants with father’s income ?15000 Pak rupees (p<0.05). Conclusion: The increased prevalence of stunting and thinness in adolescent females needs to be addressed by the policy-makers. Key Words: Stunting, Thinness, Adolescent, Females, Sindh, Pakistan. Continuous...

Modified electrochemical sensor via supramolecular structural functionalized graphene oxide for ultra-sensitive detection of gallic acid

Gallic acid (GA) is a synthetic polyphenolic compound that has been increasing interest due to its diverse biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, scavenging free radicals, protecting cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension-lowering properties. The precise and rapid determination of GA content holds significant importance for human health. In this study, we present a cost-effective and highly sensitive electrochemical sensor employing a nanocomposite material, diester calix[4]arene functionalized graphene oxide (DEC4/GO) for the ultrasensitive detection of GA. The characterization of the as-synthesized nanocomposite material was carried out using various techniques, such as Fourier-Transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Tunneling Electron Microscopy (TEM), to ascertain its chemical composition, crystalline nature, phase purity, and structural morphology. The uniform deposition of DEC4/GO on the surface of a bare glass carbon electrode (GCE) was achieved via a drop casting method. In addition, the developed sensor DEC4/GO/GCE exhibits exceptional electrochemical response towards GA under optimized conditions, such as pH -7 phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a supporting electrolyte, a scan rate of 110 mV/s, and an applied potential window between −0.2 V and 0.8 V. The as-developed sensor demonstrated a wide linear dynamic range of 10–100 μM, resulting a brilliant linear calibration obtained for GA. Furthermore, the limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of the developed sensor were calculated as 0.01 and 0.03 μM respectively, lower than those reported for the other GA sensors. To validate the feasibility of our developed method, we analyzed the GA content in wine and green tea samples, achieving good recovery results. Overall, this study presents a promising electrochemical sensor platform for ultrasensitive detection of GA holding potential implications for various applications in health monitoring and food analysis

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Assessment of Fe3+ Inclusion Complex of p-tert-Butylcalix[4]arene Diamide Derivative

Present study deals with the synthesis of the p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene diamide derivative as ligand (L) and its Fe3+ complex, followed by its characterization using TLC and FT-IR, while UV-Vis and Job’s plot study were performed for complex formation. Antimicrobial activity of the derivative (L) and its metal complex was carried out by the disc diffusion method against bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus albus) and fungi (R. stolonifer). Different concentrations of the derivative (L) (6, 3, 1.5, 0.75, and 0.37 μg/mL) and its Fe3+ complex were prepared, and Mueller–Hinton agar was used as the medium for the growth of microorganisms. Six successive dilutions of the derivative (L) and Fe3+ complex were used against microorganisms. Two successive dilutions (6 and 3 μg/mL) of the derivative (L) showed antibacterial action against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, three successive dilutions (6, 3, and 1.5 μg/mL) of the derivative (L) showed antifungal activity. However, all of six dilutions of the Fe3+ complex showed antimicrobial activity. Derivative (L) showed 3 and 1.5 μg/mL minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against bacteria and fungi, respectively. On the contrary, its Fe3+ complex showed 0.37 μg/mL value of MIC against bacteria and fungi. Hence, Fe3+ complex of the derivative (L) was found to be a more effective antimicrobial agent against selected bacteria and fungi than the diamide derivative (L)

Facile fabrication of a free-standing magnesium oxide-graphene oxide functionalized membrane: a robust and efficient material for the removal of pollutants from aqueous matrices

Environmental pollution significantly challenges human health, ecosystems, and the planet’s sustainability. Widespread air, water, and soil contamination from various pollutants requires effective and sustainable solutions to reduce or eliminate pollution and its impacts. In this work, we designed novel magnesium oxide and graphene oxide (MgO@GO) composite free-standing membranes for nanofiltration. The membranes were characterized with the help of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Further, free-standing MgO@GO composite membranes with different thicknesses were used to measure the water permeance. 410 nm-thick membranes showed high water permeance up to 480 ± 5 Lm−2 h−1bar−1. Further, the rejection efficiency of the membrane was measured against NaCl, CaCl2, Pb(NO3)2, CdCl2, and amoxicillin. The MgO@GO membrane (410 ± 10 nm) showed 100% rejection for amoxicillin and 99% for Pb(NO3)2, respectively. Additionally, the membranes were stable under acidic and neutral conditions for approximately ∼80 days and may used on an industrial scale to ensure water is clean and free from harmful substances

Ultrathin Graphene Oxide-Based Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Purification

Two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO)-based lamellar membranes have been widely developed for desalination, water purification, gas separation, and pervaporation. However, membranes with a well-organized multilayer structure and controlled pore size remain a challenge. Herein, an easy and efficient method is used to fabricate MoO2@GO and WO3@GO nanocomposite membranes with controlled structure and interlayer spacing. Such membranes show good separation for salt and heavy metal ions due to the intensive stacking interaction and electrostatic attraction. The as-prepared composite membranes showed high rejection rates (˃70%) toward small metal ions such as sodium (Na+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions. In addition, both membranes also showed high rejection rates ˃99% for nickel (Ni2+) and lead (Pb2+) ions with good water permeability of 275 ± 10 L m−2 h−1 bar−1. We believe that our fabricated membranes will have a bright future in next generation desalination and water purification membranes