Framing of Armed Conflicts between the Two Nuclear States of South Asia

The current study investigates the framing process through the lens of the causal responsibility and the subject matter adopted by Pakistani print news media during the armed conflicts after the Pulwama assault in February 2019. With the help of the census approach, 282 opinions and editorials were collected from a population of 1,321 published items from six English newspapers. The findings show that Pakistani print media outlets extensively used the individual causal responsibility frame, while the social responsibility frame was used less in numbers. The content analysis reveals that the subject matter of awareness was extensively used in media content during the Pulwama assault and its aftermath. The observations are examined from the perspective of journalistic preferences in selecting specific frames during the framing of regional and global armed conflicts

A Machine Learning based Empirical Evaluation of Cyber Threat Actors High Level Attack Patterns over Low level Attack Patterns in Attributing Attacks

Cyber threat attribution is the process of identifying the actor of an attack incident in cyberspace. An accurate and timely threat attribution plays an important role in deterring future attacks by applying appropriate and timely defense mechanisms. Manual analysis of attack patterns gathered by honeypot deployments, intrusion detection systems, firewalls, and via trace-back procedures is still the preferred method of security analysts for cyber threat attribution. Such attack patterns are low-level Indicators of Compromise (IOC). They represent Tactics, Techniques, Procedures (TTP), and software tools used by the adversaries in their campaigns. The adversaries rarely re-use them. They can also be manipulated, resulting in false and unfair attribution. To empirically evaluate and compare the effectiveness of both kinds of IOC, there are two problems that need to be addressed. The first problem is that in recent research works, the ineffectiveness of low-level IOC for cyber threat attribution has been discussed intuitively. An empirical evaluation for the measure of the effectiveness of low-level IOC based on a real-world dataset is missing. The second problem is that the available dataset for high-level IOC has a single instance for each predictive class label that cannot be used directly for training machine learning models. To address these problems in this research work, we empirically evaluate the effectiveness of low-level IOC based on a real-world dataset that is specifically built for comparative analysis with high-level IOC. The experimental results show that the high-level IOC trained models effectively attribute cyberattacks with an accuracy of 95% as compared to the low-level IOC trained models where accuracy is 40%.Comment: 20 page

Comparison of antibacterial activity of parent plant of Tylophora indica Merr. with its in vitro raised plant and leaf callus

The antibacterial potential of an endangered medicinal plant Tylophora indica was analyzed by agar well diffusion method and its activity was compared with that of its in vitro raised plant and callus. The extracts of parent plant of T. indica showed good antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria only; whereas, the extracts from in vitro raised plant and leaf callus showed good activity against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the alcoholic leaf extract of in vitro raised plant was determined by broth microdilution method. MIC against gram positive bacteria ranged from 3.05 to 12.0 μg/ml and MIC against gram negative bacteria ranged from 1.53 to 24.0 μg/ml. The present study leads to conclusion that extracts of T. indica contains good antibacterial activity which can be used in the treatment of various infections showing resistance to treatment by currently used antimicrobial agents. As the in vitro raised plant and callus gave better results as compared to parent plant, in vitro cultivation of explants may be used to obtain novel antibacterial compounds. This is the first report on antibacterial activity of T. indica through in vitro raised plant and its callus.Keywords: Tylophora indica, in vitro raised plant and callus, antibacterial activityAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(31), pp. 4891-489

Post-Operative Complications of Surgery for Chronic Subdural Hematoma (SDH) and Prevention

Objective:  The study aimed to determine the rate and type of complications during surgery for treatment of chronic subdural hematoma and assess ways for their prevention. Material and Methods:  A total of 50 patients of chronic SDH were selected from the Neurosurgery Department of Bahawal Victoria Hospital. Patients were treated surgically with a single burr hole evacuation under local anesthesia, introduced a subdural drain, nursed in a head-down position for 24 hours, and given plenty of fluids orally and intravenous route. The surgical technique involved a formation of a single burr hole at the point of maximum density. Results:  Out of 50, 43 patients recovered smoothly postoperatively and discharged on the 7th postoperative day. Two patients were re-operated due to inadequate evacuation or reaccumulation. One patient developed subdural empyema post-operatively and expired in spite of good antibiotic cover. In one patient subdural drain penetrated the brain parenchyma resulting in dysphasia. Another patient formed an intracerebral hematoma due to irrigation of the cavity with pressure. One patient with GCS 4/15 developed seizures postoperatively and expired after one hour. One patient developed gross subdural tension pneumocephalus after removing the subdural drain was re-operated and recovered. Conclusion:  Single burr hole evacuation of chronic SDH under local anesthesia is the most accepted surgical treatment. Using proper aseptic surgical techniques, the introduction of the minimum necessary length of the subdural catheter to avoid penetration into the brain parenchyma, followed by careful irrigation of the subdural cavity can help prevent complications

Nexus of Block Chain Alignment, Supply Chain Agility, Supply Chain Performance and their Impact on Firm’s Environmental Performance: A Developing Country Perspective

Blockchain technology has significant potential for improving the environmental performance of businesses and supply chains. One of the key benefits of blockchain is its ability to provide greater transparency and traceability in supply chains. This can enable companies to better monitor and manage their environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions and waste production, throughout their supply chain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the use of blockchain technology in improving supply chain alignment (SCA), supply chain agility (SCAG), and supply chain performance (SCP), and their influence on the environmental performance (EP) of firms. Additionally, the study aimed to identify the moderating effect of innovative climate (IC) on the relationship between SCA, SCAG, SCP, and EP. The researchers employed a quantitative research paradigm and collected data through a survey questionnaire. The sample was collected using the probability cluster sampling method and consisted of 350 personnel in executive and middle management positions. The results indicated that SCA, SCAG, and SCP positively impact the EP of businesses, and this relationship is moderated by IC. The study's findings have several theoretical and practical implications, including the potential for blockchain technology to improve supply chain sustainability and the importance of fostering an innovative climate to enhance the positive effects of SCA, SCAG, and SCP on EP

Simulation of Longitudinal Stability Of Helicopter In Forward Flight

The present work describes the development of code for trim and longitudinal stability analysis of a helicopter in forward flight. In general, particular use of these codes can be made for parametric investigation of the effects of the external and internal systems integrated to UH-60 helicopters. A forward flight longitudinal dynamic stability code is also developed in the work to solve the longitudinal part of the whole coupled matrix of equations of motion of a helicopter in forward flight. The coupling is eliminated by linearization. The trim analysis results are used as inputs to the dynamic stability code. The forward flight stability code is applied to UH-60 helicopter

A Holistic Analysis of Internet of Things (IoT) Security : Principles, Practices, and New Perspectives

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Patients' perception and actual practice of informed consent, privacy and confidentiality in general medical outpatient departments of two tertiary care hospitals of Lahore

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The principles of informed consent, confidentiality and privacy are often neglected during patient care in developing countries. We assessed the degree to which doctors in Lahore adhere to these principles during outpatient consultations.</p> <p>Material & Method</p> <p>The study was conducted at medical out-patient departments (OPDs) of two tertiary care hospitals (one public and one private hospital) of Lahore, selected using multi-stage sampling. 93 patients were selected from each hospital. Doctors' adherence to the principles of informed consent, privacy and confidentiality was observed through client flow analysis performed by trained personnel. Overall patient perception was also assessed regarding these practices and was compared with the assessment made by our data collectors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Some degree of informed consent was obtained from only 9.7% patients in the public hospital and 47.8% in the private hospital. 81.4% of patients in the public hospital and 88.4% in the private hospital were accorded at least some degree of privacy. Complete informational confidentiality was maintained only in 10.8% and 35.5% of cases in public & private hospitals respectively. Informed consent and confidentiality were better practiced in the private compared to the public hospital (two-sample t-test > 2, p value < 0.05). There was marked disparity between the patients' perspective of these ethical practices and the assessment of our trained data collectors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Observance of medical ethics is inadequate in hospitals of Lahore. Doctors should be imparted formal training in medical ethics and national legislation on medical ethics is needed. Patients should be made aware of their rights to medical ethics.</p

Taxation policy and regulation efficiency on increasing zakat collection: countries comparison analysis

Purpose - This study investigated the policies over countries, specifically concerning the taxation in its regard with the zakat collection. The aim is to see whether making zakat compulsory helps solving zakat collection problem or not.Method - The study used a descriptive analysis model with a qualitative approach.  The range of data collected in 2006-2017 came from nine countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sudan, Jordan, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Pakistan.Result - The results of this study indicate that Sudan, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Pakistan follow a mandatory approach while Malaysia, Kuwait, Indonesia, Jordan and Saudi Arabia follow a voluntary approach.  It was also found that a mandatory approach attracted more zakat collection as indicated by the zakat collection ratio.Implication - Pointing out that mandating zakat by imposing it through regulations helps collect more zakat payments.Originality - This research specifically contributes to studying the tax system in various countries to stimulate the collection of zakat by using a comparative study

Hepatoprotective role of fruit extract of Terminalia arjuna in acetaminophen intoxicated mice

Background: Liver injury and dysfunction is one of the major health concerns throughout the world. Several herbal formulations are reported to exert beneficial effects on the biochemistry of the liver.Methods: Therefore, the current project is conducted to evaluate the hepatocurative and hepatoprotective potential of Terminalia arjuna by using albino mice.Results: The fruit extract (400 mg/Kg) of the plant showed hepatoprotective effects upon pre-treatment for 5, 10 and 15 days and later challenged with acetaminophen (400 mg/Kg) for 3 days. The results showed substantial protective properties as there was comparatively less damage to the liver. Furthermore, the fruit extract of T. arjuna also exhibited hepatocurative effects when animals were given acetaminophen (400 mg/Kg) for 3 days to damage the liver followed by the treatment with the plant extract (400 mg/Kg) for 5, 10 and 15 days. The results also indicated hepatocurative activities, as the elevated serum levels of hepatic enzymes were inclining to normal ranges in a time-dependent manner.Conclusion: In conclusion, the fruit extract of T. arjuna possesses hepatoprotective plus hepatocurative activities.Keywords: Acetaminophen; Hepatocurative; Hepatoprotective; Serum Enzymes; Terminalia arjun