BEHAVIOUR OF SILTY SAND REINFORCED WITH LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (LDPE) STRIPS

In this study, silty sand is reinforced with plastic strips to improve the engineering properties of soil. Sand and silty sand soils have been used as base materials and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) strips as reinforcement materials. The LDPE strips are used in various dimensions (e.g., width ranging from 6 to 15mm and length ranging from 15 to 30mm). The randomly distributed LDPE strips are added to sand and silty sand specimens at varying percentages (e.g., 0.1% to 0.3%) by weight of dry soil specimen. Direct shear tests are performed on sand and silty sand specimens in both unreinforced and reinforced conditions. Stress strain, volumetric strain (e.g., compression/dilation behaviour) and strength envelopes are plotted to investigate the improvement in the shear strength parameter (e.g., internal friction angle). The results show that in sand specimens, the maximum improvement in shearing behaviour has been achieved with strips of 6x30mm in dimensions and at 0.3%. For silty sand specimens, the maximum improvement in shearing behaviour has been achieved with strips of 6x25mm in dimensions and at 0.3%. In addition, it has been observed that reinforced soil specimens increased the values of internal frictional angle compared to unreinforced soil specimens. In sand specimens, maximum increase of 19.72% in internal friction angle (Φ) has been observed with 6x30mm strips at similar percentage. In case of silty sand specimens, the maximum increase in internal friction angle (Φ) has been observed as 19.28% with the addition of strips of 6x25mm and at 0.3%

Relationship of training and education with employee performance in financial institutions

The aim of this study is to investigate the training that has positive impact on employees’ performance and productivity. This paper is quantitative in nature. Data for the paper have been collected through primary source by questionnaires surveys. The data have been checked through statistical software to find the influence and relationship of training on performance of employees. There are two variable Training (Independent) and Employees' performance (Dependent). Seven conventional banks limited are selected for the study. It is concluded that training has strong positive impact on employee performance whereas education is negatively correlated with performance in the financial institution of southern Punjab. The research paper suggest that professional training is essential element of human capital development which leads to higher productivity and performance

High Involvement Management and Employees Performance Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to augment the existing literature on the relationship between high involvement management and Employee job performance with the mediating effect of job satisfaction in the banking sector. Based on the available literature a conceptual framework was designed to study the relationship. The conceptual framework is composed on independent variable high involvement management practices, dependent variable employee performance and the mediating variable job satisfaction. Adopted questionnaires of (Takeuchi et al., 2007, (Judge, 2006) and (Hochwarter, 2006) for measuring High Involvement Management, Job Satisfaction and Individual Employee Job Performance respectively were used to collect the data. Overall the response rate was 71.3%. Correlation analysis, simple linear regression and step wise regression were used to test out the hypotheses. Results obtained were consistent with the previous research studies conducted i.e. there was a strong association of high involvement management with employees performance and similarly job satisfaction was having significant relationship with employee performance. Similarly from the regression analysis the effect of independent variable was found significant on mediator as well as dependent variable. Moreover full mediation was predicted from stepwise regression. The study has investigated the relationship as well as the level of employees performance, job satisfaction and high involvement management practices was calculated which shows the current performance of the organization, hence this research study can be used as a guide, for the management of the banking sector, to utilize its findings in order to stress the problems of employees and increase their productivity. Key words : performance management, job satisfaction, High involvement managemen

Safety of Supracostal Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in Paediatric Population: A Single Centre Experience

Objective The objective of this study is assessment of safety and efficacy of supracostal mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy in pediatric patients. Methodology This is prospective study of patients whose kidney stones were treated with mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy through supracostal approach between February 2019 and Dec 2020.These patients were selected for supracostal puncture based on preoperative ultrasound and CT KUB findings and peroperative assessment of stone burden, stone location and anatomy of pelvicalyceal system. Results Of 80 patients 72(90%) were treated with only one supracostal puncture while additional 2nd puncture was used for 8(10%) patients. Overall stone clearance is 85% only with percutaneous nephrolithotomy and the stone clearance has reached to 95% with ancillary procedures.13% of patient had hydrothorax , 3.75% had urosepsis, 2.75% had bleeding and 1.25 % had perinephric fluid collection. Conclusion This study concludes that the safety and efficacy of supracostal percutaneous nephrolithotomy is same as subcostal pcnl if surgical boundaries are not violated

The Role of Brand Orientation, Market Orientation on Strengthening Internal Brand Equity: Evidences from Banking Sector of Pakistan

Internal branding has been emerging recently as an important issue in marketing field. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether brand orientation and internal marketing practices produce any effect on shaping internal brand equity. A structured questionnaire was prepared for collection of data in banking sector of south Punjab, Pakistan. Based on the findings of this research it is observed that brand orientation and internal marketing practices produce a positive impact on internal brand equity. Partial least square (PLS) regression technique was used to test the model fitness. PLS path model was consisting of two models. One model was describing the relationship among variables while other model was used to test the hypothesis. The findings of this research contribute in existing literature by examining the impact of internal marketing and brand orientation on internal brand equity. Furthermore managers of banking institutions specifically and managers of non banking institution in general, can utilize the findings of this research study to enhance their financial growth through internal brand equity. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n17p8

Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Bacterial Pathogens Isolated From Wound Infections in a Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan

Background: The resistance profile of bacteria causing wound infections may vary from time to time in a given geographical location. The key objective of this study was to determine the prevalent aerobic and or facultative anaerobic bacterial types and their antibiogram to commonly prescribed antibiotics.Methods: Pus, drainage or wound swabs from various body parts of 200 patients were aseptically collected from Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and processed by standard microbiological techniques for identification of bacterial isolates and later antimicrobial susceptibility profile was determined as per Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines by using Kirby-Bauer method.Results: Out of 200 clinical wound specimens processed, Staphylococcus aureus was the most common bacterial pathogen isolated (n=100, 50%), followed by Escherichia coli (n=45, 22.5%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=35, 17.5%), Enterobacter species (n=14, 7%), Proteus species (n=5, 2.5%) and Morganella species (n=1, 0.5%). Staphylococcus aureus (n=100) showed highest resistance to amoxicillin (82%), followed by ofloxacin (80%), sparfloxacin (78%), ciprofloxacin (71%), levofloxacin (46%) and Gentamicin (34%). Out of 100 S. aureus isolates methicillin and vancomycin resistance was found to be in 1.5 and 2% of the isolates, respectively. Among Gram negative isolates (n=100) the vast majority were resistant to augmentin, followed by cephalosporins, quinolones and almost fairly susceptible to carbapenems, cefoperazone + sulbactam and aminoglycosides.Conclusion: There is a need for judicious use of antibiotics in clinical setup. The periodic monitoring of bacterial pathogens and their susceptibility profile is very helpful in understanding the resistance phenotypes in a given area which ultimately help physicians in selecting suitable empirical therapy

Effect of Gender on the Outcome of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVES To determine the frequency of acute coronary syndrome presentations among diabetic patients and in-hospital outcomes based on gender variance. METHODOLOGY This observational cross-sectional study was conducted at the cardiology department of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. 106 consecutive diabetic patients with acute coronary syndrome were enrolled. Patients were assessed for in-hospital outcomes like congestive heart failure, recurrent angina, and mortality. The outcomes were evaluated based on gender. The Chi-Square test was used for significant differences keeping the P value < 0.05.  RESULTSThe mean age of the patients was 57.75±8.16 years. Males were 57 (53.8%), and females were 49 (46.2%). Congestive heart failure, re-angina, and mortality were significant in both genders yielding a P value of <0.05. CONCLUSION Diabetes is an important predictor of acute coronary syndrome. The complications related to congestive heart failure and mortality are more prevalent in males than females

INHERITANCE OF QUANTITATIVE TRAITS IN COTTON (G. HIRSUTUM L.) I. YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS

A 4 x 4 diallel cross experiment for genetic analysis of five yield and related characters of cotton (G. hirsutum L.) was conducted. Additive effects with partial dominance predominated in the phenotypic manifestation of the characters. Epist atic effects were also observed to be involved in the expression of these characters. No heterosis was observed as indicated by the non-significance of parent vs crosses mean squares for all the characters studied