Prepotence of biowrap model for micro green energy: A case for biodiesel for rural communities

Dwindling fossil resources, such as petroleum oils and coal, and the over dependence on imported fuels has prompted countries to look for internal resources to meet escalating energy demands. Micro energy from biofuels is one of the viable renewable energy options new technologies provide that can transform the remote rural communities.This paper outlines Bio-WRAP model developed by the author and illustrates that the oil obtained from amenity plantings and riparian buffers, including coconut and oil palm, can be a sustainable alternative to diesel fuel.The paper concludes that biofuels are sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and biodiesel is a green energy source for agriculture, transport and power generation at micro level use in rural communities

Broiler industry with emphasis on short supply chain in Malaysia

Poultry is one of the fastest growing an agricultural sectors.The poultry industry provides meat that is preferred by almost all cultures, is affordable and of good quality. In Malaysia, the poultry farming business has been in existence for a long time.The sub sectors of this industry are major buyers, processors and suppliers of processed commodities to the retail sectors and the final consumer markets.These markets are exposed to various risks, including input-commodity price volatility, high capital requirements, the inherent business and climatic risks of the different sub sectors and various other challenges. These factors have a major impact on decision makers, from large to micro role players in the agricultural supply chain, especially in the feed and livestock markets. Restrictive factors currently being faced by broiler industry players in doing business, among others, include issues relating to infrastructure for feed manufacturers (the cost and competitiveness of doing business).A good infrastructure may assist with optimizing the feed industry at higher levels of operation.In recent years there has been a changed interest and a significant growth in alternatives to the conventional food supply chain which allow primary producers and consumers to connect in new and more direct ways through short supply chain.This study enhances the emerging knowledge base on this fast growing sector of the food industry and rural landscape and more specifically, examines how the sector might be encouraged and facilitated to grow further and provides findings on the current situation relating to the broiler industry

Literature ratified knowledge based view of poultry supply chain integration concept

The evolution of relationships based on collaboration between business partners has become a fundamental subject of research in the area of supply chain management; including poultry supply chain integration.Study in this field has focused on a range of integration models.This study focuses on integration of systems, processes and strategy which is important for poultry supply chain business partners to recognize the benefits of closely associating supply to demand.One need to realize that these benefits are not easily achieved without constraints.A conclusion was made by proposing that ‘Knowledge Based View’ is a resource that can contribute value, towards knowledge generation, acquisition and application among members within and between organizations

Linkages between integrator, grower involvement and business performance: Focus on moderating effect of managerial skill

The aim of this study is to explain an investigation over the moderating effects relationship between integrator and grower involvement towards business performance in broiler production.The potential role of managerial skill as moderating variable between the aforementioned independent and the dependant variables are discussed.Broiler supply chain practices and its corresponding performance indicators in the form of broiler farming operations are among the important measures in the dependant variable (business performance).Based on the extensive survey of relevant literature, a research framework is then proposed. The content validity has been done by getting opinion from the experts namely Veterinary officers. Besides that the construct reliability is determined through value from Cronbach’s Alpha.The data obtained was satisfactory for content validity and construct validity also fit the model as proposed previously

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

MEDIATING ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND TURNOVER INTENTION IN PAKISTANI UNIVERSITIES

The prime objective of theresearch is to study the mediating role of organizational commitment (OC) between the relationship of occupational stress and turnover intention (TI) among university teaching staff in Malakand Division, Pakistan. Data were collected from 186 faculty members working in government universities of Malakand division which was analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. The results showed a significant positive relationship of psychological and physiological stress withTI s and negative with OC. Furthermore, OC mediated the relationship between psychological and physiological stress and TI

Economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and ecological footprint:Exploring the role of environmental regulations and democracy in sustainable development

Countries enact environmental regulations to achieve sustainable development andecological sustainability. However, environmental regulations do not guarantee envi-ronmental sustainability unless implemented efficiently. Furthermore, political institu-tions play a key role in the formulation and management of environmentalregulations. This research examines the relationship between democracy, environ-mental regulations, economic growth, and ecological footprint (EF) in the panel of G7nations from 1985 to 2017. Second generation econometric techniques are used toanalyze the data. The empirical evidence indicates that economic growth enhancesEF while democracy and environmental regulations positively contribute to ecologicalsustainability by reducing EF. The causal outcomes reveal that democracy Grangercauses EF and renewable energy indicating that democracy curbs environmental deg-radation and stimulates the share of renewables. Further, democracy and environ-mental regulations Granger cause each other. Lastly, the implication of these findingsfor sustainable development and ecological sustainability are discussed

Validation of updated partin’s table in Pakistani patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer

Objectives: To establish the usefulness and validity of 2007 Partin’s table in our population with prostate cancer. Materials and methods: Between January 1998 to June 2009, all patients with clinically localized carcinoma prostate who were treated with intent of radical retro-pubic prostatectomy (RRP) were included. Clinical, operative and pathological data was gathered. All biopsy and final histopathology Gleason scores were re-assigned in a double blind manner. Pre-operative serum PSA, TNM clinical stage and biopsy Gleason scores were plotted on Partin’s table and its predictive value and pathological findings of specimen were compared and analyzed by using Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: A total of 109 of 138 patients were included in final analysis. The median age was 65 ± 5.8 years. The pre-operative serum PSA values and clinical stages were higher in our cohort of patients as compared to Partin’s cohort. At pathological assessment of resected specimen, organ confined disease was present in 58 % of patients, seminal vesicles were involved in 22 % and lymph node metastasis was present in 12 % of patients. The accuracy of Partin’s table derived probability was high with area under curve (AUC) of 0.82 for organ confinement, 0.805 for seminal vesicle involvement and 0.714 for lymph node involvement respectively. Conclusions: The 2007 Partin’s table has a reasonably high predictive value for the final histo-pathological features. This predictive model can be used in Pakistani patients with carcinoma prostate with comparable accuracy

Financial development and environmental degradation:Do human capital and institutional quality make a difference?

Emerging countries are heading towards economic prosperity; however, the process of development has enhanced their ecological footprint. Therefore, to safeguard the environment, it is essential to identify the factors that affect the ecological footprint (EF). In this perspective, this study explores the effect of financial development, human capital, and institutional quality on the EF in emerging countries. Furthermore, we explore the effect of financial development on EF through the channel of human capital. In addition, we investigate the role of institutional quality in the financial development-EF nexus. Using the panel data from 1984 to 2017, we employed the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) technique to conduct the short-run and long-run empirical analysis. The empirical outcomes unveiled that financial development degrades the ecological quality by raising the EF. The findings further unfolded that human capital and institutional quality reduce the EF. Moreover, financial development fosters environmental sustainability through the channel of human capital. Additionally, institution quality reduces the negative ecological impacts of financial development. The causality analysis suggested that any policy related to financial development, human capital, and institutional quality will affect EF but not the other way round. Based on these findings, emerging economies should promote environmental sustainability by promoting human capital and effectively using financial resources