Can Common Stocks Provide Hedge against Inflation? Evidence from SAARC Countries

The theory says that if stocks provide an effective hedge against inflation then the effect of expected inflation should be compensated in the form of nominal stock return. As Fisher Hypothesis (1930) concluded that nominal expected return on a security is a function of expected inflation rate as well as expected real interest rate. Bodie (1976) worked on Fisher Hypothesis and found that actual nominal return depends on expected and unexpected inflation rates and also it depends on expected and unexpected nominal returns. According to Geske and Roll (1983) a positive relationship exists between stock returns and inflation, based on the assumption that securities represent claims on real assets. When there is an increase in rate of inflation, it is expected that prices of real assets will also rise, thereby improving the value of securities representing a claim on such real assets. We found that various studies in this area reported against the hypothesis, showing a negative relationship between the two. However, certain other studies support the theory asserting that the relationship existing between stock returns and inflation is positive. While the negative relationship between inflation and stock return is against the theory, negative results have led to formation of hypothesis such as tax augmented hypothesis. The tax augmented hypothesis states that when we deduct tax from the stock returns, their relationship with inflation tends to get negative as the quantum and rate of taxes also rise along with inflation. This hypothesis also opines that initial researcher did not consider the tax impact when they were empirically testing the relationship between stock returns and inflation

Characterization of sorghum germplasm for various morphological and fodder yield parameters

This study was performed to evaluate and characterize 24 sorghum accessions for various morphological and fodder yield parameters. The germplasm displayed considerable variability for leaf color, midrib color, panicle shape, days to 50% flowering, leaf area, flag leaf area, plant height and green fodder yield, while differences of smaller magnitude were observed for number of leaves and tillers plant-1. Genotype Fsd -sorghum was mature early with minimum days to maturity (63) while maximum plant height (232 cm) was observed for Acc.1692. Moreover, Acc.1827 exhibited maximum leaf area (447 cm2) and the highest green fodder yield at 50% maturity (58 t ha-1) was recorded for Acc. 1763. The results of this study indicate that significant genetic diversity exists among the sorghum accessions. The genetic potential of Fsd-sorghum, accessions 1692, 1827 and 1763 can be exploited in future sorghum breeding programs. Further, these genotypes are recommended for commercial cultivation to meet the fodder needs of the country.Keywords: Fodder, Sorghum bicolor, accession

Patterns of coronary artery vessel disease on diagnostic angiography in a south asian population

Objective: The objective was to establish patterns of diseased vessels amongst the study population.Methodology: This retrospective descriptive study analyzed the data of 396 patients who underwent diagnostic angiographies at a large tertiary care public hospital in Islamabad, from January-2018 till October 2018. All data was coded and recorded in SPSS and was quantitatively run to find percentages and tests of significance were done.Results: We found that single vessel disease was the most common at 31.6%, and that the left anterior descending was the most commonly involved vessel with the most significant coronary artery disease, 86.6% and 71.4% respectively. Conclusion: Hypertension and diabetes has a great burden on our South Asian population and contribution to the development of coronary artery disease. Severe disease present in one vessel should alert physicians to the possibility of multi-vessel involvement and multi vessel progression in the disease progress.  Delineation of the vessel involvement pattern in South Asians forms the basis for formulating local guidelines and strategies for tackling coronary artery disease.Keywords: Angiography, CAD, patterns

Analysis of Machine Learning Based Imputation of Missing Data

Data analysis and classification can be affected by the availability of missing data in datasets. To deal with missing data, either deletion-based or imputation-based methods are used that results in the reduction of data records or wrong predicted value imputed by means/median respectively. A significant improvement can be done if missing values are imputed more accurately with less computation cost. In this work, a flow for analysis of machine learning-based algorithms for missing data imputation is proposed. The K-nearest neighbors (KNN) and Sequential KNN (SKNN) algorithms are used to impute missing values in datasets using machine learning. Missing values handled using statistical deletion approach (List-wise Deletion) and ML-based imputation methods (KNN and SKNN) is then tested and compared using different ML classifiers (Support Vector Machine and Decision Tree) to evaluate effectiveness of imputed data. The used algorithms are compared in terms of accuracy, and results yielded that the ML-based imputation method (SKNN) outperforms LD-based approach and KNN method in terms of effectiveness of handling missing data in almost every dataset with both classification algorithms (SVM and DT)

Optimizing the Air Conditioning Layouts of an Indoor Built Environment:Towards the Energy and Environmental Benefits of a Clean Room

Reducing energy consumption in buildings has received intensified research impetus since the introduction of the decarbonization goals set in the Paris agreement. Many domestic and specialized applications require clean rooms (indoor built environments) for safe and clean operation. Energy efficiency in clean room spaces depends on maintaining livable or required conditions such as temperature, humidity, and particle concentration with minimal use of energy and new carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In the literature, parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, particle concentrations, and CO2 emissions are not able to be properly controlled in clean room systems. The designed system in the literature involves high energy consumption and high economic costs. All these factors add novelty to this research, which was a significant research gap in previous studies. This clean room is directly linked to environmental parameters such as ambient temperature, relative humidity, etc. The clean room is also related directly to the building and infrastructure in such a way that there are certain regulatory requirements for designing a clean room. For designing and constructing the controlled environment in a clean room, the English (EN) documents, ISO 9000, and various other standards allow for clean rooms for different types of products. In this research, the designed control configurations properly control the system. Additionally, this system is energy efficient, with positive environmental aspects regarding CO2 emissions. Three control configurations were designed in this research, option A, option B, and option C, and three parameters are controlled in the study. These parameters are room temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 emissions (outside the room). CO2 emissions are controlled outside the room (in the environment). In the last research phase, a comparative analysis of these three control configurations was performed to find an energy-efficient system with fewer CO2 emissions. Control configuration B (option B) provides reliable results regarding an energy-efficient system and fewer CO2 emissions emitted to the environment. In this study, an optimized configuration for the air conditioning system was developed for a clean room (volume 185.6 m3) with a required temperature of 23 °C, relative humidity of 40%, and a particle size of less than 0.3 μm. Three different design configurations were analyzed using TRNSYS simulation software. The minimization of energy use and CO2 emissions were the objective functions. Energy loads were calculated for each of the configurations by varying the fixed air change per hour and the minimum outdoor air flow rate. The results of a whole year simulation run for control configurations A, B, and show that, on the one hand, the ambient weather conditions of temperature and relative humidity (RH) is varied throughout year and, on the other hand, the clean room temperature was maintain at exactly 23 °C, which is the required set point temperature, for all the three configurations (A, B, and C). Furthermore, the clean room relative humidity was maintained at 36% for configuration A, below the 40% which was the set point for clean room relative humidity, and at 40% for configurations B and C. Configuration B exhibited the minimum energy use (7300 kWh), at a fixed air change per hour value of 20 and a minimum outdoor air flow rate of 150 L/s, with the least amount of CO2 emissions, offering an overall 25% improvement over configurations A and C

GERM CELL TUMOURS OF THE OVARY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: A CLINICAL STUDY OF 109 PATIENTS IN A SPECIALIZED CANCER CENTRE

Objective: Paediatric ovarian germ cell tumours (GCTs) are rare tumours withmalignant tumours extremely rare.Methods: All the paediatric patients who received treatment for histology proven ovarian GCT at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital from January 2006 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients over the age of 18 years were excluded from the study. A total of 109 patients were included in the study. A set of parameters were identified to record initial clinical presentation and examination, imaging and laboratory investigations including tumour marker levels. Decisions of multidisciplinary team meetings, surgical treatment, neo adjuvant, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation data retrieved. Data analysiscarried out using SPSS 20.Results: In total 109 girls presented to our hospital during the study period, most of them above the age of 5 years, with dysgerminoma being the most common followed by yolk sac tumour. Most of the patients received treatment outside our hospital and were referred here for chemoradiotherapy. Fertility preserving surgery was the most commonly performed surgical procedure with a mean follow-up of 50.4 months and >75% overall 5-year survival.Conclusion: Regardless of histologic types, the outcomes of GCT can be improved with a multidisciplinary approach.Key words: Dysgerminomas, germ cell tumours, ovarian tumour

Recent developments and perspectives in CdS-based photocatalysts for water splitting

Over the past few years, many approaches have been developed progressively to produce hydrogen (H2) from water under solar light irradiation. This process of fuel production is clean, potentially cost-effective, and environment-friendly. At present, however, current technologies are unable to meet the industrial requirements because of high cost, low photoresponse, and insufficient catalytic performance. Among water splitting photocatalysts, CdS is considered to be an interesting and important material owing to its low cost, prominent catalytic activity, high absorption in the visible spectrum, and the suitable positions of its conduction (CB) and valence (VB) bands. There are, however, some associated problems such as the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and photocorrosion that have severely hampered its practical usage. The efficient conversion of water to H2 depends on the extent to which the charge carriers, especially the electrons, are first generated and then have sufficient life-time for their effective utilization. This review highlights work over the past several years to improve the photocatalytic efficiency and stability of CdS for H2 production from water

Spectrum of Different Spinal Disorders Presenting to Neurosurgical Department of Public Sector Tertiary Care Hospitals of Peshawar

Objectives: To assess the spectrum of different spinal disorders presenting to the Neurosurgical department of public sector tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar.Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study carried out in the Neurosurgery departments of two public sector tertiary care hospitals in district Peshawar from January 2012 to December 2018. Our inclusion criteria comprised of all those patients who were having spinal abnormalities irrespective of age and gender, admitted either via emergency or OPD. We excluded those patients who were dead on arrival or whose data was lacking including those who did not do their follow up and those who were not given consent for the study.Results: Out of total 5,579 patients, male to female ratio was 1:1.7. The age range was from 6 days to 78 years. Elective cases were 63.61% (n = 3,549) and emergency were 36.37% (n = 2,030). TSCI were 35.01% (n = 1,953) and NTSCI were 3,626 (n = 64.99%). Out of all patients, 91.03% (n = 5,079) were treated surgically. About 79% (n = 4,406) had a good outcome.Conclusion: We collected data and made a survey of the spectrum of different spinal abnormalities resulting from various etiologies focused over the last 6 years. We found a variety of cases presenting to our departments of neurosurgery. Non traumatic spinal injuries are more frequent as compared to traumatic ones

Facile Synthesis of Functionalized Phenoxy Quinolines: Antibacterial Activities against ESBL Producing Escherichia coli and MRSA, Docking Studies, and Structural Features Determination through Computational Approach

The synthesis of new 6-Bromoquinolin-4-ol derivatives (3a–3h) by Chan–Lam coupling utilizing different types of solvents (protic, aprotic, and mixed solvents) and bases was studied in the present manuscript. Furthermore, their potential against ESBL producing Escherichia coli (ESBL E. coli) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were investigated. Commercially available 6-bromoquinolin-4-ol (3a) was reacted with different types of aryl boronic acids along with Cu(OAc)2 via Chan–Lam coupling methodology utilizing the protic and aprotic and mixed solvents. The molecules (3a–3h) exhibited very good yields with methanol, moderate yields with DMF, and low yields with ethanol solvents, while the mixed solvent CH3OH/H2O (8:1) gave more excellent results as compared to the other solvents. The in vitro antiseptic values against ESBL E. coli and MRSA were calculated at five different deliberations (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 mg/well) by agar well diffusion method. The molecule 3e depicted highest antibacterial activity while compounds 3b and 3d showed low antibacterial activity. Additionally, MIC and MBC standards were calculated against the established bacteria by broth dilution method. Furthermore, a molecular docking investigation of the derivatives (3a–3h) were performed. Compound (3e) was highly active and depicted the least binding energy of −5.4. Moreover, to investigate the essential structural and physical properties, the density functional theory (DFT) findings of the synthesized molecules were accomplished by using the basic set PBE0-D3BJ/def2-TZVP/SMD water level of the theory. The synthesized compounds showed an energy gap from 4.93 to 5.07 eV

An Experimental Channel Capacity Analysis of Cooperative Networks Using Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP)

Cooperative communication (CC) is one of the best solutions to overcome channel fading and to improve channel capacity. However, most of the researchers evaluate its performance based on mathematical modeling or by simulations. These approaches are often unable to successfully capture many real-world radio signal propagation problems. Hardware based wireless communication test-bed provides reliable and accurate measurements, which are not attainable through other means. This research work investigates experimental performance analysis of CC over direct communication (DC) in the lab environment. The experimental setup is built using Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) and Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW). A text message is transmitted by using Phase Shift Keying (PSK) modulation schemes. The setup uses amplify and forward (AF) relaying mode and two time slot transmission protocols. The maximum ratio combining (MRC) technique is used for combining SNR at the receiver. Channel capacity analysis is performed in order to evaluate the performance of CC over DC with and without obstacle. Moreover, optimal position of the relay is also analyzed by varying the position of the relay. Extensive experiments are carried out in the lab environment to evaluate the performance of the system for different hardware setups. The results reveal that cooperative communication attains significant improvement in terms of channel capacity of the system