RISK PERCEPTION OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTORS IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES

From the evidence that socially responsible investment is an emerging concept in Muslim countries, we have developed a socio-demographic behavior based model. We have shown the direct effect of social factors (religion and family influence) and indirect effect of demographic factors (age, education and income) on investment choices through risk perception. Investors may be experienced in investment market but particularly in SRI investments of Muslim countries they will be new entrants. We have developed hypotheses from literature in our study regarding this concept of new entrants. In Pakistan, SRI investment is not prevailing but opportunities do exist. Pakistani firms can take the initiative by attracting SRI investments if firms develop more sophisticated CSR

Effect of chronic restraint stress on body weight of male Sprague Dawley rats

Background:  Stress disturbs body weight and food intake, but the core mechanisms are not well understood.    Study design:  Experimental     Materials and Methods:  The study was conducted in  National  Institute  of  Health  (NIH),  Islamabad Sixty male Sprague Dawley rats (mean wt 250 ± 50 grams) were used and divided into 2 groups.   Each group comprised of 30 rats.   Group I was taken as control. Group II was exposed to chronic stress.  Results:  The comparison of weight gain by the different groups disclosed that there was a significant decrease in weight gain of rats exposed to the chronic stress as compared to control group.     Conclusion:  Chronic restraint stress has a detrimental effect on body weight. 

Social Media and Higher Education: A Linguistic Analysis of Identity Construction of Pakistani Universities

This study rigorously explores the linguistic strategies employed by Pakistani universities for identity construction on social media platforms, focusing primarily on X (formerly known as Twitter). Utilizing a robust methodology of corpus-assisted discourse analysis, we scrutinized a substantial dataset comprising 2861 tweets. These were collected from the official X accounts of two leading Pakistani universities, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), during the academic year 2021/2022. Our in-depth analysis uncovered distinctive linguistic patterns, particularly in the use of pronouns and specific multi-word key terms that each university employs to construct its identity. Intriguingly, the linguistic choices made by these institutions were found to significantly shape their digital identities, reflecting both individuality and broader cultural themes. The study augments existing research in the field by offering novel and context-specific insights into the dynamics of identity construction via social media. It underscores the pivotal role language plays in the organizational branding landscape. Furthermore, the findings from this research serve as a valuable resource for informing and refining communication strategies, not only for educational institutions but also for organizations at large that aim to construct and effectively manage their digital identities on social media platforms

Frequency and predictors of non-adherence to lifestyle modifications and medications after coronary artery bypass grafting: A cross-sectional study

Background: Non-adherence to dietary recommendations, exercise and prescribed drug regimens, in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), is a major health care issue worldwide. Aims and objectives: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the frequency and predictors of non-adherence to lifestyle changes and medication among CHD patients after undergoing CABG surgery. Method: The sample of this cross sectional descriptive study was 265 patients who underwent isolated primary CABG. Participants who met the eligibility criteria were provided with a pre-coded questionnaire 4 weeks or more after surgery. Adherence was assessed on the basis of patient's self-report. Significance of results was analyzed using Chi square test. Results: Roughly half of the patients were non-adherent to dietary recommendations (n = 120, 45.3%) and exercise (n = 109, 41.1%) while about one third (n = 69, 26%) were non-adherent to prescribed medications. Unwillingness to adopt a new lifestyle and more than one social gathering per week, were found to be statistically significant predictors of non-adherence to diet (p-values < 0.001). Reluctance to follow exercise regimen, busy schedule, and fear that exercise will aggravate heart issues were commonly reported as reasons for non-compliance to exercise. As for non-adherence to medication, forgetfulness, affordability of drugs and too many medications to take were important predictors. Conclusion: Non-adherence to lifestyle modifications and medication is an emerging problem worldwide. It is essential for medical health professionals to discuss these predictors and address them individually. Our findings highlight the need for a healthy physician and patient relationship

Optimizing efficacy of turnip growth through foliar application of glutamic acid under saline conditions

Salinity is assumed to be a distressing abiotic factor that mainly disrupts crop quality and yield by impairing plant cell mechanisms. Due to ion accumulation, salinity stress results in lowering growth rate and water uptake. This issue is being solved by the use of several plant growth regulators. Plant growth regulators have been proven to increase plants' ability to withstand against stress. In this study, turnip (purple top cultivar) was subjected to four distinct levels of salt (0, 4, 8, and 12 dS/m), as well as one level of gibberellic acid, in order to assess the function of exogenously applied plant growth regulator glutamic acid (GA) (10 mM). Results revealed that salt stress slowed plant growth and decreased the amount of chlorophyll in turnip leaves. Application of salt alone resulted in a considerable decline in biochemical characteristics. However, in salt-stressed conditions, exogenous application of GA improved the antioxidant activity, chlorophyll contents and plant growth in the turnip leaves. Moreover, results depict that under salt stress vitamin C decreased; however, exogenous application of GA enhanced the Vit. C in turnip plants. Further, the uptake of salt content in turnip roots and leaves was significantly lowered by the application of GA. Additionally, under salt stress; GA dramatically controlled the quantity of phenolic compounds in turnip.Keywords: Brassica rapa, Salinity, Glutamic acid, Morphological and biochemical assay, Reducing and non-reducing suga

Optimizing efficacy of turnip growth through foliar application of glutamic acid under saline conditions

Salinity is assumed to be a distressing abiotic factor that mainly disrupts crop quality and yield by impairing plant cell mechanisms. Due to ion accumulation, salinity stress results in lowering growth rate and water uptake. This issue is being solved by the use of several plant growth regulators. Plant growth regulators have been proven to increase plants' ability to withstand against stress. In this study, turnip (purple top cultivar) was subjected to four distinct levels of salt (0, 4, 8, and 12 dS/m), as well as one level of gibberellic acid, in order to assess the function of exogenously applied plant growth regulator glutamic acid (GA) (10 mM). Results revealed that salt stress slowed plant growth and decreased the amount of chlorophyll in turnip leaves. Application of salt alone resulted in a considerable decline in biochemical characteristics. However, in salt-stressed conditions, exogenous application of GA improved the antioxidant activity, chlorophyll contents and plant growth in the turnip leaves. Moreover, results depict that under salt stress vitamin C decreased; however, exogenous application of GA enhanced the Vit. C in turnip plants. Further, the uptake of salt content in turnip roots and leaves was significantly lowered by the application of GA. Additionally, under salt stress; GA dramatically controlled the quantity of phenolic compounds in turnip.Keywords: Brassica rapa, Salinity, Glutamic acid, Morphological and biochemical assay, Reducing and non-reducing suga

Deleterious Variants in WNT10A, EDAR, and EDA Causing Isolated and Syndromic Tooth Agenesis: A Structural Perspective from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The dental abnormalities are the typical features of many ectodermal dysplasias along with congenital malformations of nails, skin, hair, and sweat glands. However, several reports of non-syndromic/isolated tooth agenesis have also been found in the literature. The characteristic features of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) comprise of hypodontia/oligodontia, along with hypohidrosis/anhidrosis, and hypotrichosis. Pathogenic variants in EDA, EDAR, EDARADD, and TRAF6, cause the phenotypic expression of HED. Genetic alterations in EDA and WNT10A cause particularly non-syndromic/isolated oligodontia. In the current project, we recruited 57 patients of 17 genetic pedigrees (A-Q) from different geographic regions of the world, including Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. The molecular investigation of different syndromic and non-syndromic dental conditions, including hypodontia, oligodontia, generalized odontodysplasia, and dental crowding was carried out by using exome and Sanger sequencing. We have identified a novel missense variant (c.311G>A; p.Arg104His) in WNT10A in three oligodontia patients of family A, two novel sequence variants (c.207delinsTT, p.Gly70Trpfs*25 and c.1300T>G; p.Try434Gly) in EDAR in three patients of family B and four patients of family C, respectively. To better understand the structural and functional consequences of missense variants in WNT10A and EDAR on the stability of the proteins, we have performed extensive molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. We have also identified three previously reported pathogenic variants (c.1076T>C; p.Met359Thr), (c.1133C>T; p.Thr378Met) and (c.594_595insC; Gly201Argfs*39) in EDA in family D (four patients), E (two patients) and F (one patient), correspondingly. Presently, our data explain the genetic cause of 18 syndromic and non-syndromic tooth agenesis patients in six autosomal recessive and X-linked pedigrees (A-F), which expand the mutational spectrum of these unique clinical manifestations.status: publishe