Risk Adjusted Performance Evaluation of Balanced Mutual Fund Schemes in Pakistan

Mutual fund existed since 1964 in Pakistan capital market carrying certain benefits like risk diversification, assured returns and professional management for the retail investors. Growth of this investment mode has not been in the parallel levels in Pakistan as is the case around the world but still mutual funds in Pakistan appeared to be highly competitive financial service industry. This research paper aimed to study the performance of some selected mutual fund schemes in Pakistan based on risk-return relationship and various measures. Five balanced schemes offered by various mutual funds in Pakistan are selected for this study from 2010 to 2013. The analysis has been made on the basis of mean return, beta risk, total risk, Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Jensen Alpha and Fama’s decomposition measure. The empirical results reveal that average returns of selected portfolio are below from market returns, mix trend of risk in selected schemes and overall defensive beta values. In short results indicate underperformance of most of schemes during selected span of study. Keywords: Risk adjusted performance, Balanced mutual fund, Treynor, Sharpe and Jensen’s Alpha measure. KSE 10

Comparison of Efficacy of Laryngeal Mask Airway and Intersurgical-Gel Supraglottic Airway Device During General Anesthesia in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Upper airways collapse during anesthesia is a common issue faced by anesthetists. Air way maintenance is an essential component of general anesthesia. Laryngeal mask airway and Intersurgical-gel (i-gel) air way devices are new advances in general anesthesia. Present study aims to compare the ease of insertion and hemodynamic response of i-gel supraglottic and laryngeal mask airway (LMA). Material and Methods: A Randomized Clinical trial was conducted at the Department of Anesthesia, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. Study duration was 6 months (June 2014- December 2014). A total of 60 patients were selected through non-probability consecutive sampling. Ethical approval was taken from ethical review board of Sheikh Zayed Hospital and informed written consents were taken from all the participants. Patients were randomly divided into two groups using lottery method. Group A was given laryngeal mask airway device while group B patients were provided with i-gel supraglottic device during anesthesia. Patients were compared for ease of insertion and hemodynamic parameters. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Chi-square and t-test were applied and p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 60 patients were included in study. Mean age of patients was 35.2±11.7 years in LMA group and 36.7±13 years in i-gel group. Group B had lower number of insertion attempts (p=0.01) and high insertion satisfaction (p=0.4) as compared to group A. However, process failure and bleeding rate was found to be slightly higher in group B (16% and 13% respectively) as compared to group A (p>0.05). Conclusion: i-gel supraglottic device is a successful alternative option in terms of ease of insertion and less hemodynamic response as compared to laryngeal mask airway during general anesthesia. Key words: , ,&nbsp

Petrography of Jutana Dolomite: Implications for Geotechnical Utility

Present study has been carried out to know the reliance of mechanical properties on the petrographic parameters. The Jutana dolomite is comprised of dolomite, sandy dolomite and siliciclastic beds. In this study microfacies analysis and geotechnical utility of Jutana dolomite has been determined. Based on the microscopic study different microfacies were identified. The mechanical properties of Jutana dolomite were investigated with the help of the strength tests such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and uniaxial tensile strength (UTS) and shear strength. The results of the strength tests show that the Jutana dolomite is a moderately strong, which is suitable for construction purpose. In addition, the interrelationships of petrographic and mechanical properties of Jutana dolomite were determined. The percent quartz (8-41%) grains play a positive impact on the uniaxial compressive strength of Jutana dolomite

Conocimiento, actitud y conciencia de COVID-19 entre estudiantes de odontología preclínica y clínica: Una encuesta transversal en línea.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the understanding and perception of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the undergraduate preclinical and clinical dental students within Pakistan. Material and Methods: An online survey was developed by the researchers and conducted amongst the undergraduate students at various dental colleges of Pakistan. A pretested questionnaire was used and distributed using social media platforms. The questionnaire consisted of demographics, health status, perception related to general hygiene, understanding and learning attitudes of dental students. Knowledge scores and the attitude responses were compared with the demographics using independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and chi-square, as appropriate. Results: A total of 800 undergraduate dental students responded to the survey, out of which 304(38%) were males and 496(62%) were female students. Students in pre-clinical years were 600(75%), while 200(25%) students were in the clinical years. The knowledge of clinical students regarding COVID-19 was statistically higher (4.71/6), compared to the students in pre-clinical years (4.49/6) (p=0.004). Both groups showed adequate knowledge regarding the route of transmission, symptoms and origin of COVID-19, and COVID-19 being a threat to life. Clinical students did not want to re-use the face mask (75%), compared to the preclinical students (68%) (p-0.048). Students in clinical years reported more awareness regarding the recommended hand washing technique during COVID-19 (p-<0.001). Conclusion: It can be concluded that dental students in clinical years have adequate knowledge regarding the COVID-19 as compared to the preclinical students. The study identifies all areas where preclinical and clinical students lack basic knowledge. This should be compensated by arranging different webinars and online courses to increase the understanding of both clinical and preclinical students during the pandemic.Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la comprensión y la percepción de la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) entre los estudiantes de pregrado de odontología clínica y preclínica en Pakistán. Material y Métodos:  Los investigadores desarrollaron una encuesta en línea que se llevó a cabo entre los estudiantes de pregrado de varias facultades de odontología de Pakistán. Se utilizó y distribuyó un cuestionario, previamente probado, a través de plataformas de redes sociales. El cuestionario comprendía datos demográficos, estado de salud, percepción relacionada con la higiene general, comprensión y actitudes de aprendizaje de los estudiantes de odontología. Las puntuaciones de conocimiento y las respuestas de actitud se compararon con los datos demográficos mediante la prueba t independiente, ANOVA de una vía y chi-cuadrado, según corresponda.  Resultados: Un total de 800 estudiantes de odontología de pregrado respondieron a la encuesta, de los cuales 304 (38%) eran hombres y 496 (62%) eran mujeres. Los estudiantes en los años preclínicos eran 600 (75%), mientras que 200 (25%) estaban cursando años clínicos. El conocimiento de los estudiantes de clínica sobre COVID-19 fue estadísticamente mayor (4.71/6), en comparación con los estudiantes en años preclínicos (4.49/6) (p=0.004). Ambos grupos mostraron un conocimiento adecuado sobre la vía de transmisión, síntomas y origen de COVID-19, y que COVID-19 es una amenaza para la vida. Los estudiantes en fase clínica no querían reutilizar la mascarilla (75%), en comparación con los estudiantes preclínicos (68%) (p-0.048). Los estudiantes en años clínicos informaron más conciencia sobre la técnica de lavado de manos recomendada durante COVID-19 (p<0,001). Conclusión: Se puede concluir que los estudiantes de odontología en años clínicos tienen un conocimiento adecuado sobre el COVID-19 en comparación con los estudiantes en años preclínicos. El estudio identifica todas las áreas donde los estudiantes clínicos y no clínicos carecen de conocimientos básicos. Esto debe compensarse organizando diferentes seminarios web y cursos en línea para aumentar la comprensión de los estudiantes clínicos y no clínicos durante la pandemia

Industrial Digitization, the Use of Real-Time Information, and Operational Agility : Digital and Information Perspectives for Supply Chain Resilience

Publisher Copyright: IEEEPeer reviewedPostprin

Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Immunosuppressants in Rheumatological and Musculoskeletal Diseases

Objective: To determine drug compliance among patients with rheumatological and musculoskeletal diseases and to identify the reasons behind poor compliance. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Rheumatology Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar Pakistan, from Aug 2020 to Feb 2021. Methodology: All patients aged 16 to 70, of either gender with inflammatory rheumatic diseases who were prescribed conventional DMARDs for at least six months were included in the study. Results: Two hundred and eighteen patients were included in the study. There were 59(27.1%) males and 159(72.9%) females with a mean age of 38.56±4.75years. There were 156 SPRA patients (71.5%), while SLE and SNIA accounted for 22(10.1%) and 17(7.8%) cases, respectively. Methotrexate was the most commonly prescribed medicine, 158(72.5%) while 90(41.3%) patients were prescribed Hydroxychloroquine and 43(19.7%) patients were prescribed Sulfasalazine. Regarding compliance, 112 (51.4%) patients were found to have good drug adherence. On the other hand, side effects and lack of awareness were found to be the most common cause of poor medication adherence. Conclusion: We concluded that adherence to medication among patients with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases is poo

Online Customer Experience Leads to Loyalty via Customer Engagement: Moderating Role of Value Co-creation

With the increasing growth of online shopping, businesses are intertwining to establish new shopping antecedents. Customer experience has steadily become the most important source of retailers’ long-term competitive advantage via difference. To preserve long-term and sustained consumer loyalty, retailers must continually improve the customer experiences. This study presents a framework for online retailing in a digital environment called the Online Customer Experience-Engagement Context model in the presence of value co-creation (VCC). Data was gathered from 189 people who purchased products online. For additional analysis, testing the hypothesis, and model construction, SPSS 26 and Smart-PLS were used. The data was then evaluated further using descriptive statistics, path analysis, measurement, and structural model. The findings show that the online customer experience (measured as shopping environment, shopping procedure, staff service experience, and product experience) substantially influenced customer engagement, which improved customer loyalty. The VCC strengthened the link between online customer experience and customer engagement. It suggests that including consumers in co-creating a delightful online customer experience from time to time may be a valuable strategy for online retailers to increase customer engagement and loyalty. To create an overarching outcome, information integration theory (IIT), multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), and the attitude-behavior-context theory (ABC) theories are converged to explain the proposed model in the study

Estimating global injuries morbidity and mortality : methods and data used in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study

Background: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria. Methods: In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality for every cause of injury, and then estimating incidence for every cause of injury. Non-fatal disability for each cause is then calculated based on the probabilities of suffering from different types of bodily injury experienced. Results: GBD 2017 produced morbidity and mortality estimates for 38 causes of injury. Estimates were produced in terms of incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, cause-specific mortality, years of life lost and disability-adjusted life-years for a 28-year period for 22 age groups, 195 countries and both sexes. Conclusions: GBD 2017 demonstrated a complex and sophisticated series of analytical steps using the largest known database of morbidity and mortality data on injuries. GBD 2017 results should be used to help inform injury prevention policy making and resource allocation. We also identify important avenues for improving injury burden estimation in the future