Perception of Justice and Trust in Software Industry of Pakistan

The present study concentrates on how organizational justice influences trust and performance of employees in an organization. Trust level of employees is affected by how employees perceive justice in organizations and hence, it also affects the performance of the organization. It may be inferred that trust is a vital component in mediating the connection of organizational justice and organizational performance. The industry used for the present research is the software industry of Pakistan. A structured questionnaire was sent to 350 employees, randomly selected, working in various software firms in Punjab, Pakistan. Structural Equation Modeling - AMOS was applied for analyzing the data. The findings from the research revealed that trust played a strong mediating relationship between fairness and performance of the organization. The results provide useful insights for organizations, particularly the software firms of Pakistan since this study considers factors other than economic gain that may be more important to the employees in improving the performance of the organization

Simulated National Identity and Ascendant Hyperreality in Julian Barnes’s England, England

The paper sets out to analyze Julian Barnes’s novel England, England (1998) in the light of Jean Baudrillard’s concepts of simulation and hyperreality. According to Baudrillard, what we experience in today’s world is a simulation of reality superseded by signs and images, and therefore we are living in a hyperreal world. Barnes’s book offers a representative sample of hyperreal world in which Martha, the protagonist, finds herself troubled. Although initially she is impressed by the glamour of the theme park named England, England later on she loses interest in it when she comes to realization that everything about it is fake. This condition, making her think of her own identity and true self, finally leads her to leave the theme park and settle in the village of Anglia where she hopes to discover her true nature and regain her lost happiness

Refractive outcomes of small incision lenticule extraction with accelerated cross-linking (ReLEx SMILE Xtra) in patients with thin cornea

Objective: To study the safety and clinical outcomes of ReLEx SMILE with accelerated cross-linking in eyes with thin cornea. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four thin cornea with corrected distance visual acuity 20/25 or better, stable refraction of at least 1 year, age 21 years or older, and residual corneal thickness of greater than 400 mm before performing collagen crosslinking were studied. Following the removal of lenticule, 0.25% riboflavin in saline was injected into the interface and allowed to diffuse for 60 seconds. Finally, eye was exposed to UV-A radiation of 45mW/cm2 for 75 seconds through the cap. Total energy delivered was 3.4 J/cm2. Results: 54 eyes of 27 patients with mean age of 25.22 ± 2.67 years were treated. Mean follow-up was 6 months. Mean spherical equivalent (SE) was −5.58 ± 1.22D preoperatively and -0.111 ± 0.636D postoperatively. The mean central corneal thickness (CCT) and keratometry changed from 498.39 ± 11.79 µm to 417.85 ± 12.82 µm and 45.47 ± 0.68 D to 41.13 ± 1.13D, respectively. Mean uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) was 20/25 or better in all eyes. No eyes lost lines of corrected distant visual acuity (CDVA). There were no complications like haze, keratitis, ectasia, or regression. Conclusion: Based on the initial clinical outcome it appears that SMILE Xtra may be a safe. Although further follow-up and larger samples are needed to fully confirm these findings, the results suggest that combined small-incision lenticule extraction and intrastromal corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) are a promising treatment option for patients for whom conventional laser refractive surgery is contraindicated

NMDA encephalitis in an elderly with poor prognosis

We present a case of a 65 years old man from Islamabad who presented with six months history of psychiatric and behavioural symptoms, significant weight loss. Later on he developed difficulty swallowing and altered sensorium. This was followed by an episode of shortness of breath leading to respiratory arrest, followed by ICU stay on ventilator support, then developed focal deficit in form of left sided weakness, dysautonomia, bradycardia leading to cardiac arrest and another cardiopulmonary resuscitation, myoclonic jerks, orofacial dyskinesias, status epilepticus, coma ultimately resulting in death of the patient. Patient was found to be NMDA receptor antibody positive. CT chest and abdomen did not reveal any hidden malignancy. Patient was given intravenous pulse steroids for 5 days followed by five sessions of plasmapheresis but did not respond. He stayed on ventilator support for 40 days and did not improve. This is the second case of antibody proven NMDA encephalitis from Pakistan, the first being from Islamabad as well and published in this journal

Revolutionizing Food Processing: A Comprehensive Review of Microwave Applications

The review explores the extensive applications of microwaves, covering the non-ionizing radiation spectrum from 300 MHz to 300 GHz. It emphasizes the growing role of microwaves in modern food technology, delving into their evolution, principles, advantages, and drawbacks, the analysis delves into the unique dynamics of microwave heating, considering factors like frequency, permittivity, and thermal properties. Microwaves offer benefits such as fast and even cooking, nutrient preservation, and improved thermodynamic output, the use of radiation in sterilization, drying, pasteurization, and blanching, showcasing their efficiency in achieving product sterility while minimizing nutrient damage. Microwaves are important for modern food processing to meet dietary needs.&nbsp

Microbial-Plant Interactions and Their Role in Mitigating of Oil Pollution: A Review

The partnership between plants and microorganisms is crucial for combating oil pollution on land and in the sea. This mutual relationship helps transform and restore ecosystems affected by oil contamination. The article focuses on how plants and microorganisms work together to fight oil pollutants, and how this partnership can be used to restore ecosystems and manage oil-contaminated areas sustainably. Microorganisms living with plants have unique abilities to break down and use the hydrocarbons in oil pollutants, converting them into less harmful substances and reducing environmental damage. This partnership also improves the effectiveness of phytoremediation, a sustainable technique for cleaning up polluted sites.&nbsp

Computational Structural Analysis and Homology Modelling of Beta-Xylanase from Bifidobacterium pullorum: A Comprehensive In-Silico Investigation

Bifidobacterium pullorum, commonly found in chicken waste and preferring mesophilic characteristics, contains an enzyme known as Beta-Xylanase. This enzyme effectively breaks down xylan, offering potential for creating biogas, like methane, and biofuels, such as ethanol. Scientists are actively exploring sustainable energy sources, while industries aim for cost-effective methods to decrease operational expenses. The conventional methods for producing biogas and biofuels involve high-temperature processes using fuel combustion, leading to significant expenses. To address this, mesophilic bacteria present a promising alternative for more cost-efficient biofuel production. This study is the first to delve into the genomic and three-dimensional structure of beta-xylanase, crucial for breaking down xylan. Our findings highlight that the beta-xylanase in Bifidobacterium pullorum showcases a TIM-barrel structure, similar to other GH10 xylanases essential in carbohydrate breakdown. This indicates a potential connection between Bifidobacterium pullorum\u27s beta-xylanase and the improvement of biogas production

Melanoma segmentation using deep learning with test-time augmentations and conditional random fields

In a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) system for skin lesion segmentation, variations in shape and size of the skin lesion makes the segmentation task more challenging. Lesion segmentation is an initial step in CAD schemes as it leads to low error rates in quantification of the structure, boundary, and scale of the skin lesion. Subjective clinical assessment of the skin lesion segmentation results provided by current state-of-the-art deep learning segmentation techniques does not offer the required results as per the inter-observer agreement of expert dermatologists. This study proposes a novel deep learning-based, fully automated approach to skin lesion segmentation, including sophisticated pre and postprocessing approaches. We use three deep learning models, including UNet, deep residual U-Net (ResUNet), and improved ResUNet (ResUNet++). The preprocessing phase combines morphological filters with an inpainting algorithm to eliminate unnecessary hair structures from the dermoscopic images. Finally, we used test time augmentation (TTA) and conditional random field (CRF) in the postprocessing stage to improve segmentation accuracy. The proposed method was trained and evaluated on ISIC-2016 and ISIC-2017 skin lesion datasets. It achieved an average Jaccard Index of 85.96% and 80.05% for ISIC-2016 and ISIC-2017 datasets, when trained individually. When trained on combined dataset (ISIC-2016 and ISIC-2017), the proposed method achieved an average Jaccard Index of 80.73% and 90.02% on ISIC-2017 and ISIC-2016 testing datasets. The proposed methodological framework can be used to design a fully automated computer-aided skin lesion diagnostic system due to its high scalability and robustness

Role of Microbial Communities in Compost and Plant Growth: Structure and Function

The review explores the microbial communities within composite composts, focusing on their role in decomposition and nutrient cycling, using advanced molecular techniques and traditional microbiological assays, the researchers examine the diverse bacteria, fungi, and archaea in compost matrices, they highlight the richness and complexity of these ecosystems, their adaptability to various environmental conditions, and their substrate compositions. Certain important groups of microorganisms are essential for breaking down organic material, releasing nutrients, and creating humic substances that are vital for soil health and plant development. The research also shows how the makeup of the microbial community and the conditions of composting work together, which has a big impact on how well the compost matures and how good the final product is.&nbsp