Cross cultural perspectives of decision-making and control in multinational corporations operating in ASEAN

Kajian ini membincangkan isu-isu persekitaran budaya negara ASEAN dan cabaran-cabarannya terhadap pengurus-pengurus korporat multi-nasional. Kajian ini melaporkan penemuan terhadap corak membuat keputusan, kawalan dan pengurusan budaya serta aspek gelagat. Walaupun penemuan ini mempunyai persamaan dengan kajian lain, namun terdapat perbezaan dalam corak membuat keputusan, kawalan dan pengurusan budaya serta aspek gelagat

Dyslipidemia and mean lipid profile in patients with liver cirrhosis

Background: Patients with liver disorders are often found to have deranged lipid profile. Clear decline is observed in the levels of cholesterol as well as TG among individuals having severe hepatitis and liver failure as synthesis of lipoprotein is reduced. This study was done to determine the frequency of dyslipidemia and the mean lipid profile values in patients of liver cirrhosis.Methods: A cross sectional, descriptive study, done at the Department of Medicine, Medical Unit-1, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, from July to December 2019. A total of 246 patients presented with cirrhosis of liver of age 20-60 years and both genders were included. Analysis for serum total cholesterol (TC) level, serum triglycerides level, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were done and findings were noted.Results: Mean age was 51.67±6.21 years. Out of the 246 patients, 153 (62.20%) were male and 93 (37.80%) were females with male to female ratio of 1.6:1. Mean values of lipid were, LDL cholesterol 95.76±29.65 mg/dl, HDL 43.37±11.46 mg/dl, TC 147.51±42.69 mg/dl and TG 101.29±21.59 mg/dl. Dyslipidemia was found in 59 (23.98%) patients, whereas there was no dyslipidemia in 187 (76.02%) patients.Conclusions: Frequency of dyslipidemia in cirrhotic patients is high. Evaluating patients of liver cirrhosis, dyslipidemia need to be considered for early recognition and analysis

Predicting Firm Performance through Resource Based Framework

This study aims to review the key concept of Resource Based View (RBV) that is broadly acknowledged in strategic management, and analyze their impact on Firm Performance by using the VRIN and Non-VRIN Resources. Based on experts’ theory we develop hypotheses and a conceptual framework to investigate the relationship between firm’s resources and its performance to attain the sustainable competitive advantage. In spite of this perception, few empirical studies test these hypotheses at the conceptual level. The paper presents empirical evidence from a survey of different industrial firms in Pakistan. Through random Sampling, the data was collected from Top Management, CEOs and Senior Executives from the top companies in Pakistan. The data has been collected through questionnaires and statistically evaluated by SPSS software. All Data analyzed through Pearson correlation coefficient, linear regression, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The finding showed that VRIN Resources have a positive significant relationship to improve firm’s performance. While Non-VRIN Resources and performance have an insignificant relationship to each other. This study closes with future recommendations that how this study have important academic and practitioner implications. Keywords: Resource Based View (RBV), VRIN Resources, Non-VRIN Resources, Firm Performanc

Experimental Study of Air Entrainment in Web Handling Applications

Mechanical Engineerin

Obesity and high risk pathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of a university hospital in Pakistan

BACKGROUND: Incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and the frequency of obesity is increasing globally. In literature, relationship between excessive body weight and bad prognostic features of PTC is still debatable. In this study, we aimed to explore the association of obesity with high risk pathological features of PTC in a population treated by total thyroidectomy +/- neck dissection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patients at Aga Khan University Hospital from January 2013 to December 2014, who underwent total thyroidectomy +/- neck dissection due to PTC. Patients were grouped according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification of BMI. They were categorized into two groups, i.e. normal (BMI= 18.5 - 24.9 kg/m2) and obese (BMI = 30 kg/m2) as none of our patients lie in underweight and overweight category. Pathological features i.e. T-stage, multifocality, bilaterality, extrathyroidal extension, vascular invasion and N-stage were assessed. All tumors were staged according to TNM staging system proposed by 2010 American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval was used to examine the association between BMI ∧ pathological characteristics of PTC. RESULTS: A total of 53 patients were treated for PTC in two-years period. There were 38 female and 15 male patients. Twenty-eight patients had BMI in normal while twenty-five in obese category. Patients who were in obese category had a significantly greater risk of having a multifocal tumor (OR=5.55, p-value=0.02) and bilaterality (OR=6.54, p-value=0.01) compared to normal weight patients. No positive associations were identified between BMI and extrathyroidal extension, high T-stage, vascular invasion and N-stage. CONCLUSION: Obesity is not associated with high risk pathological features such as extrathyroidal extention, high T-stage, vascular invasion and N-stage in PTC. Although it has been correlated with multifocal and bilateral tumors in this retrospective study, the presence of these factors alone is not adequate to support the association conclusively

An Analysis of Production Relations in the Large-scale Textile Manufacturing Sector of Pakistan

This paper attempts to determine econometrically the underlying production relations for the large-scale textile manufacturing sector of Pakistan, based on data available from the six most recent censuses of large-scale manufacturing industries. The coyariance model is used for pooling the provincial data. Testing for alternative forms reveals that the CES production function with constant-returns-to-scale most adequately explains the underlying production structure. The estimates of the elasticity of substitution are significantly different from zero in all cases, implying significant and efficient employment generation possibilities.

Availability and helpful environment of school health services in Rawalpindi and Islamabad region

Objective: To assess the status of health services and environment in the public and private schools of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted at Islamabad Medical and Dental College, Islamabad from April to September 2017. A survey was done in the schools of Rawalpindi and Islamabad through a questionnaire, distributed to the school heads and/or administrators. The study outcome was measured in terms of status of school health services and health environment.. Out of the total list of government, private and semi government schools the number for visit and interview was selected systematically. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS 20 version. Results: Overall 60.1% schools had a health team. Health teams were found in 47.6% of government, 58.3% of private and 80.0% of semi government schools. Only 42.4% had received any health-related training for students or personnel in the schools, 28.3% schools had presence of doctor while 30.9% had a nurse. Safe drinking water and adequate washroom facility was available in majority of schools along with playing area and proper lighting and ventilation condition. Conclusion: School health services are very poor at the schools in Rawalpindi and Islamabad region. There is lack of health training for students and staff with only 42.4% getting it

Frequency of cervical nodal metastasis in early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

ntroduction Oral cavity carcinoma is an aggressive tumor, with the tongue being one of the most common subsites of involvement. Surgery is a gold standard method of dealing with advanced-stage tumors. However, for early-stage carcinomas of the tongue, the management remains controversial. Several studies have indicated that early-stage cancers have a high chance of occult cervical node metastasis, which, if left untreated, can greatly affect the prognosis. Certain parameters can help identify patients with occult cervical node metastases, and can avoid unnecessary neck dissection in node negative patients. Tumor thickness is one such objective parameter. Objective To estimate the frequency of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with early-stage, node-negative (N0) squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Methods In-patient hospital data was reviewed from January 2013 until March 2014, and 78 patients who underwent primary resection of the tumor and neck dissection for biopsy-proven, early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue were included. Data such as tumor thickness, tumor differentiation and presence of occult nodal metastasis in the surgical specimen were gathered from the histopathology reports. The frequency of subclinical cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue was estimated. Results A total of 69% of the patients with tumor thicknesses \u3e 5 mm had tumor metastases in the neck nodes, while 100% of the patients with tumor thicknesses \u3c 5 mm had no neck nodal metastasis. Conclusion A tumor thickness \u3e 5 mm is significantly associated with subclinical metastasis, and prophylactic neck dissection is warranted in such cases