The Relationship Between Religious Tourism and Individual’s Perceptions (A case study of Hazrat Data Ghanj Bakhsh’s shrine)

Tourism as an industry has become one of the rapidly flourishing sectors in the world economy. It has experienced a continual evolution, and expanding ‎diversification over the last few decades. Religious tourism is one of the ancient types of tourism, i.e. travel entirely and intensely motivated for religious reasons. Specifically talking about Pakistan in business and research circles, religious tourism has recently been accepted as a thriving segment. This paper investigates the relationship between religious tourism and individuals’ perceptions at Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh\u27s (HDGB) Shrine. For this empirical study, a survey method, primarily of Likert Scales is used. The collected data is used to gather information about the relationship between individuals’ perceptions and religious tourism at HDGB shrine. Individuals’ perceptions are measured regarding: directional signage; safety and security; displays and exhibits; good value for money and; equal access. The results show that individuals’ perceptions regarding directional signage, safety and security, displays and exhibits, good value for money, and equal access have positive relationships with religious tourism

The Relationship between Cash Flow Volatility and Dividend Payout Ratio: Evidence from Pakistan’s Non-Financial Firms

The current study scrutinizes the impact of cash flow volatility on the behaviour of firms regarding dividend payout. It intends to explain how dividend payment is a good source of attraction for investors. A panel data set of 274 non-financial firms of Pakistan was used for analysis covering the period 2006-2018. The estimates of the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) revealed that volatility in the cash flow of firms adversely affects their dividend payout behavior. It implies that variations in cash flow cause cash shortfall and accordingly, firms resort to cutting their dividend payment. The empirical findings of this study suggest that firms should sustain their financial health by accumulating cash in profitable times. Moreover, the managers should consider cash flow volatility in their risk management decisions

Search Engine Optimization Techniques for Malaysian University Websites: A Comparative Analysis on Google and Bing Search Engine

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays very vital role in the development of professional web sites. There are a number of search engines available on the internet such as Yahoo, Ask.com, AOL.com, Baidu, Bing, etc. Among which Google is the most widely used search engine. Each search engine uses different SEO technique and algorithm which not only forms the foundation of SEO, but affects the position of a website in organic search results as well. As Google modify its algorithm about 500 or more times per year, the web design and internet also evolves dynamically because of changes in SEO techniques and algorithms.  However, how well Malaysian universities websites are optimized for other search engines is questionable particularly the key differences between search engine ranking techniques and algorithms. This research paper tends to answer these vital questions by proposing a comparative analysis of Bing and Google on some Malaysian universities website, analyzing their search engine optimization parameters and outcomes of using  Microsoft Bing as compared to its primary competitor, Google.

Comparison of Closed Reduction and Plaster Cast versus Kirschner Wire Fixation for the Management of Colle’s Fracture

Objective: To evaluate the functional outcomes of closed reduction and plaster cast versus kirschner wire fixation in treatment of colle’s fracture.Study Design:  Randomized Control Trial.Place and Duration: Study was conducted in the department of Orthopedic surgery Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur from April 2017 to April 2018.Methodology: A total of sixty patients with colle’s fracture enrolled in the study. Adult patients of age more than 20 years, both genders with unstable distal radius end fracture were included in the study. Patients unfit for medical treatment, compound fracture with vascular injury and who were not willing for surgery were excluded from the study. Patients were divided into two groups with lottery method. Complications after surgery and outcomes (excellent, good, and poor) were assessed. SPSS version was used to analyze data. P value ≤ 0.05 was considered as significant.Results: mean age and time of union of Group A was 42.90±3.53 years and 3.80±1.58 respectively. There were more males than females i.e. 70% and 30% respectively. Majority of the patients’ outcome was good in both the groups’ i.e. 46.7% and 53.3% respectively. The differences were statistically insignificant.Conclusion:Results of our study reveals that both treatment methods are equally effective less costly mode of treatment should be adopted for management of colle’s fracture. Keywords: Close Reduction, Plaster Cast, Kirschner Wire, Collles’ Fractur

Outcomes of Induction of Labor versus Expectant Management in Women with Premature Rupture of Membrane

Objective: To assess outcomes of induction of labor versus expectant management in pregnant women suffering from preterm rupture of membrane. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and duration: It was held in Gynecology Department Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahwalpur  from 12 December 2017 to 25 May 2018. Methodology: 80 women were enrolled in this clinical trial and they were categorized into two groups IOL and EM randomly. Women with single or twice pregnancy having PROM at > 37 weeks gestation, they were eligible for this study. PROM was clinically examined and confirmed with Ferning and positive litmus tests. Digital vaginal examination was avoided. Women with abnormal cardiotocogram, major fetal anomalies, severe preeclampsia, sign of intrauterine infection, monochorionic multiple pregnancies, meconium stained amniotic fluid and HELLP syndrome was excluded from this clinical study. All the pregnant women who met these criteria of this study were randomly assigned to EM group and IOL group with lottery method.Computer software SPSS version 23 was used for entering and analyzing data. Frequencies and percentage was calculated for maternal and neonatal variables like mode of delivery, Chorioamnionitis, maternal and neonatal sepsis, Pneumonia, HELLP syndrome, Apgar score, Meningitis, Convulsion, Neonatal temperature, Neonatal ICU admission and RDS. Standard deviation and mean were used to describe the maternal length of hospital stay (days), Neonatal birth weight (g) and neonatal length of ICU stay (days). Student t test and Chi square test were used to find frequency, percentage, SD and mean respectively. P value < 0.05 was considered to be significant.Result: Rates of neonatal and maternal infection were insignificant in both study groups. The neonatal infection rate was 7.5 % for both IOL and EM group, while maternal infection rate was 7.5 % in IOL group, 10 percent for the EM group, and 2.7 % in the EM (prostaglandin) group. The rates of C-section were insignificant. Rates of clinical chorioamnionitis were significant in both study groups. Clinical chorioamnionitis was less likely to be developed in the women of the IOL group than in women of EM group (7.5 % vs. 12.5 %, P_0.04), as was pneumonia (zero vs. 10 %, P-0.040). Length of hospital stay was significant in IOL and EM group (7.57±1.15 vs. 6.85±1.13, P- 0.004), as neonatal ICU admission was (12.5 % vs. 7.5 %, P- 0.04). Similarly, meningitis was (zero vs. 5 % and P- 0.030), as was convulsion (zero in IOL vs. 1.5 % in EM, P- 0.040).Conclusion: It has been concluded that management of induction of labor (IOL) is very suitable for all pregnant women suffering from preterm rupture of membrane (PROM) than expectant management (EM) because it decreases maternal as well as fetal complications. Keywords: Expectant management (EM), Induction of labor (IOL), premature rupture of membrane (PROM)

A Novel Electrochemical Sensing Platform for the Detection of the Antidepressant Drug, Venlafaxine, in Water and Biological Specimens

A stable bimetallic catalyst composed of Co–Pd@Al2O3 was synthesized using a wet impregnation method, followed by calcination and H2 reduction. The synthesized catalyst was thoroughly characterized using XRD, BET, SEM, EDX, and TPR techniques. The catalyst was then drop-casted on a glassy carbon electrode (Co–Pd@Al2O3/GCE) and applied for the sensitive and selective electrochemical determination of a common antidepressant drug, venlafaxine (VEN). The proposed sensor (Co–Pd@Al2O3/GCE) demonstrated a remarkable catalytic activity for the electro-oxidation of VEN, with a decent repeatability and reproducibility. The pH dependent responsiveness of the electro-oxidation of VEN helped in proposing the redox mechanism. A linear relationship between the peak current and concentration of VEN was observed in the range of 1.95 nM to 0.5 µM, with LOD and LOQ of 1.86 pM and 6.20 pM, respectively. The designed sensor demonstrated an adequate selectivity and significant stability. Moreover, the sensor was found to be quite promising for determining the VEN in biological specimens

Search engine optimization techniques for Malaysian university websites a comparative analysis on Google and Bing search engine

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a very vital role in the development of professional websites. There are some search engines available on the internet such as Yahoo, Ask.com, AOL.com, Baidu, and Bing. Among which Google is the most widely used search engine. Each search engine uses different SEO technique and algorithm, which not only forms the foundation of SEO but affects the position of a website in organic search results as well. As Google modify its algorithm about 500 or more times per year, the web design and internet also evolves dynamically because of changes in SEO techniques and algorithms. However, how well Malaysian universities websites are optimized for other search engines is questionable particularly the critical differences between search engine ranking techniques and algorithms. This research paper tends to answer these vital questions by proposing a comparative analysis of Bing and Google on some Malaysian universities website, analyzing their search engine optimization parameters and outcomes of using Microsoft Bing as compared to its primary competitor, Google

Remediation of Emerging Heavy Metals from Water Using Natural Adsorbent: Adsorption Performance and Mechanistic Insights

The presence of potentially toxic metals in water causes a strong impact on environment and human health. In this study, activated biochar was produced by using chemical oxidation method from wheat straw as natural adsorbent and was employed for heavy metals competitive remediation. The morphology, structure, and chemical properties of biochar before and after adsorption were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDX mapping techniques. The competitive adsorption efficiency of adsorbent for divalent cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) from contaminated water was investigated by using wide range of several initial metal concentration, contact time and pH. Maximum adsorption of Cd(II) and Pb(II) was found in the pH range of 6–8. The adsorption capacity for Cd(II) and Pb(II) was 8.85 and 9.03 mg/g, respectively. Thermodynamics parameters and kinetic models were applied to adsorption data. The isotherm data followed Langmuir model, corresponding to monolayer adsorption of the two ions in the contaminated water. The kinetic data followed the pseudo 2nd order kinetics model, which authenticates the chemisorption nature. The thermodynamic study indicated that Cd adsorption is a spontaneous exothermic process while Pb adsorption is an endothermic process. Mineral precipitation, surface complexation, and cation-π interactions are the major remediation strategies for Cd(II) and Pb(II)