Knowledge Sharing and Affective Commitment:Mediating Role of Trust Between Knowledge Sender and Receiver

The main determination of the current study is to explore the antecedents of knowledge sharing. Hence; affective commitment is an antecedent that shows how knowledge can be shared among the knowledge participants by using an employee’s emotional attachment and recognition with the organization. Similarly, the mediating role of trust was checked between employee’s knowledge sharing attitude and affective commitment. Data was collected from the hi-tech information technology (IT) industry from Pakistan with a sample of 143 as valid responses. Regression, correlation, factor loading, and path coefficients were used to check the reliability, validity, and model fit of the research framework. The findings suggested that employees’ recognition and emotional attachment with the organization are positively related to knowledge sharing. In addition, the mediating role of trust between affective commitment and knowledge sharing is significant and positive

Comparison Of Maternal And Perinatal Outcome Of Isolated Borderline Amniotic Fluid Index Versus Normal Amniotic Fluid In Low-Risk Pregnancies At Term

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the maternal and perinatal outcomes in low-risk pregnancies having borderline Amniotic fluid index with normal amniotic fluid index at term. Methods: This prospective observational study, included 540 low-risk pregnant women admitted at POF Hospital Wah Cantt between 1st June 2020-31st Dec 2022. Group A had 180 women with borderline AFI having normal umbilical artery Doppler and group B had 360 women with normal AFI between 37-40 weeks, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data regarding baseline characteristics and fetomaternal outcome was collected on an already designed proforma and analysis was done by using SPSS version 23. Results: The difference in overall cesarean section rate (p=0.071) and cesarean section for fetal distress (p=0.076) was not statistically significant between the two groups. The borderline AFI did not increase the risk of meconium-stained liquor (p=0.116), 5minute APGAR score <7 (p=0.218), admission to NICU (p=0.064) and low birth weight (mean birth weights p=0.278) compared to normal AFI. Conclusion: Borderline oligohydramnios does not increase the risk of cesarean section and cesarean section for fetal distress. There is no increase in the risk of meconium-stained liquor, 5-minute APGAR score<7, admission to NICU and low birth weight. Keywords: Amniotic fluid index, borderline oligohydramnios, cesarean section, fetal distress, meconium-stained liquor.

Customer prioritization for medical supply chain during COVID-19 pandemic

During COVID-19, the escalated demand for various pharmaceutical products with the existing production capacity of pharmaceutical companies has stirred the need to prioritize its customers in order to fulfill their demand. This study considers a two-echelon pharmaceutical supply chain considering various pharma-distributors as its suppliers and hospitals, pharmacies, and retail stores as its customers. Previous studies have generally considered a balanced situation in terms of supply and demand whereas this study considers a special situation of COVID-19 pandemic where demand exceeds supply Various criteria have been identified from the literature that influences the selection of customers. A questionnaire has been developed to collect primary data from pharmaceutical suppliers pertaining to customer-selection criteria. These criteria have been prioritized with respect to eigenvalues obtained from Principal Component Analysis and also validated with the experts’ domain-related knowledge using Analytical Hierarchy Process. Profit potential appeared to be the most important criteria of customer selection followed by trust and service convenience brand loyalty, commitment, brand awareness, brand image, sustainable behavior, and risk. Subsequently, Multi Criteria Decision Analysis has been performed to prioritize the customer-selection criteria and customers with respect to selection criteria. Three experts with seven and three and ten years of experience have participated in the study. Findings of the study suggest large hospitals, large pharmacies, and small retail stores are the highly preferred customers. Moreover, findings of prioritization of customer-selection criteria from both Principal Component Analysis and Analytical Hierarchy Process are consistent. Furthermore, this study considers the experience of three experts to calculate an aggregate score of priorities to reach an effective decision. Unlike traditional supply chain problems of supplier selection, this study considers a selection of customers and is useful for procurement and supply chain managers to prioritize customers while considering multiple selection criteria

Impedance Spectroscopy Analysis of PbSe Nanostructures Deposited by Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition Approach

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-08-21, pub-electronic 2021-10-23Publication status: PublishedFunder: Higher Education Commision, Pakistan; Grant(s): 7363This research endeavor aimed to synthesize the lead (II) diphenyldiselenophosphinate complex and its use to obtain lead selenide nanostructured depositions and further the impedance spectroscopic analysis of these obtained PbSe nanostructures, to determine their roles in the electronics industry. The aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique was used to provide lead selenide deposition by decomposition of the complex at different temperatures using the glass substrates. The obtained films were revealed to be a pure cubic phase PbSe, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. SEM and TEM micrographs demonstrated three-dimensionally grown interlocked or aggregated nanocubes of the obtained PbSe. Characteristic dielectric measurements and the impedance spectroscopy analysis at room temperature were executed to evaluate PbSe properties over the frequency range of 100 Hz–5 MHz. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss gave similar trends, along with altering frequency, which was well explained by the Koops theory and Maxwell–Wagner theory. The effective short-range translational carrier hopping gave rise to an overdue remarkable increase in ac conductivity (σac) on the frequency increase. Fitting of a complex impedance plot was carried out with an equivalent circuit model (Rg Cg) (Rgb Qgb Cgb), which proved that grains, as well as grain boundaries, are responsible for the relaxation processes. The asymmetric depressed semicircle with the center lower to the impedance real axis provided a clear explanation of non-Debye dielectric behavior

Effects of a high-dose 24-h infusion of tranexamic acid on death and thromboembolic events in patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (HALT-IT): an international randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Tranexamic acid reduces surgical bleeding and reduces death due to bleeding in patients with trauma. Meta-analyses of small trials show that tranexamic acid might decrease deaths from gastrointestinal bleeding. We aimed to assess the effects of tranexamic acid in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: We did an international, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 164 hospitals in 15 countries. Patients were enrolled if the responsible clinician was uncertain whether to use tranexamic acid, were aged above the minimum age considered an adult in their country (either aged 16 years and older or aged 18 years and older), and had significant (defined as at risk of bleeding to death) upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients were randomly assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients received either a loading dose of 1 g tranexamic acid, which was added to 100 mL infusion bag of 0·9% sodium chloride and infused by slow intravenous injection over 10 min, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 g tranexamic acid added to 1 L of any isotonic intravenous solution and infused at 125 mg/h for 24 h, or placebo (sodium chloride 0·9%). Patients, caregivers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. The primary outcome was death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation; analysis excluded patients who received neither dose of the allocated treatment and those for whom outcome data on death were unavailable. This trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN11225767, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01658124. Findings: Between July 4, 2013, and June 21, 2019, we randomly allocated 12 009 patients to receive tranexamic acid (5994, 49·9%) or matching placebo (6015, 50·1%), of whom 11 952 (99·5%) received the first dose of the allocated treatment. Death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation occurred in 222 (4%) of 5956 patients in the tranexamic acid group and in 226 (4%) of 5981 patients in the placebo group (risk ratio [RR] 0·99, 95% CI 0·82–1·18). Arterial thromboembolic events (myocardial infarction or stroke) were similar in the tranexamic acid group and placebo group (42 [0·7%] of 5952 vs 46 [0·8%] of 5977; 0·92; 0·60 to 1·39). Venous thromboembolic events (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) were higher in tranexamic acid group than in the placebo group (48 [0·8%] of 5952 vs 26 [0·4%] of 5977; RR 1·85; 95% CI 1·15 to 2·98). Interpretation: We found that tranexamic acid did not reduce death from gastrointestinal bleeding. On the basis of our results, tranexamic acid should not be used for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding outside the context of a randomised trial

The Impact of Smartphones on the Academic Performance of University Students

Smartphones have become an important medium of connection and information. It is frequently used for social and academic purposes. This study examines the intricate relationship between smartphone usage patterns and academic performance among university students. Data was collected from 300 participants with the help of a Google survey form. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), factor analysis, and logistic regression were used for the analysis of data. The findings revealed that the majority of students spend 1-3 hours daily on their smartphones with social media emerging as the primary purpose for usage. Despite prevalent smart phone usages, students reported relatively high cumulative grade point averages (CGPAs), indicating positive academic achievement levels. However, the analysis also uncovered that smartphone usages, brings distractions while studying. Logistic regression analysis identified the significant predictors of CGPA, highlighting the importance of managing smartphone habits effectively. Multi-dimensional scaling (MDs) and factor analysis provided insights into the clustering of factors related to smartphone usage and academic performance. Overall, these findings underscore the need for targeted intervention to promote responsible smartphone usage habits and support academic success among university students

Loopholes in Public Policy Making: A Case Study of Pakistan

In developing countries, making of a public policy features resolutions ofproblems entrenched in policy community and policy network. Its formulationdoes not only require decisions taken only from the highest authority but alsoincludes enticement and involvement of many new actors bringing inadditional actors and inducements important for a policy design. The paperattempts to study making of public policy in developing countries. Followingthe dominant model bureaucratic politics, various approaches, their policydesigns, tools of policy, integration and involvement of actors, their discourserelated to their policy communities and their networks of policy are studied tounderstand and learn lesson and important elements necessary forformulation of a policy. Further, reasons for loopholes and failures in publicpolicy formulation have been elaborated by studying the case of Pakistan. Inconclusion, the way forward for positive policy outcomes has been detailed byhighlighting the concept of citizen participation and focusing on four focalareas of process, quality, structure and politics required for practicing andimplementing policies in theory and practice

Numerical exploration of buoyancy inspired flow of pseudoplastic fluid along a vertical cylinder with viscous dissipation effects

This research presents a numerical investigation for flow around a stagnation point on a vertical stretching cylinder placed in a pseudo-plastic fluid. An important Carreau fluid model is adopted to account for pseudo-plastic effects in the flow field. Buoyancy force term arising due to the vertical boundary is formulated under the well-known Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation. Conservation equations simplified under boundary layer assumptions are solved for the similarity solutions for full range of parameter A, giving the ratio of free stream velocity to the cylinder surface velocity. The shape of velocity profile is dependent on the choice of the parameter A. Contributions of buoyancy force term and shear-thinning effect in both assisting and opposing flow situations are scrutinized. A striking influence of rheology is such that resisting wall shear declines and cooling rate of the surface drops whenever shear-thinning effect is present. However, cooling rate amplifies as the strength of buoyancy force is enhanced. Special cases of the model including the case of flat surface and Newtonian fluid are presented separately