Hematological Profile of Patients with Dementia in South Punjab

Objectives:  A case-control study was conducted to find the prevalence of abnormal blood indices and electrolytes in patients with dementia. Material & Methods:  The levels of erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, electrolytes, and ESR were determined from the biochemistry lab. A t-test was applied to see the significance of the difference between each dementia patient group (Alzheimer Disease-AD, Parkinson’s Disease-PD, and Frontotemporal Dementia-FTD) with the control group for each CBC and electrolyte parameter Results:  In each patients’ groups (AD, PD, and FTD), the mean value of every erythrocyte was lower than the normal range. A significant difference existed for each erythrocyte between dementia patients and controls, except MCHC. Low levels were observed in neutrophils in all groups of dementia including control group. Very high levels were observed in ESR in all groups of dementia. Significant differences existed in the WBC levels between controls and AD as well as PD patients, in platelets between the control group and FTD patients, and in ESR in each group of dementia patients vs. control group. Normal values observed in all groups of dementia patients as well as in the control group.  Conclusion:  We found low levels in erythrocytes in cases of Alzheimer disease, Parkinson’s disease, and frontotemporal dementia. Age-related changes to hematological indices especially related to RBCs, and inflammatory mediators like cytokines, hamper the microcirculation in the cerebral tissue leading to micro-infarcts or microbleeds which cause neuronal insults and parenchymal damage

Perinatal outcomes in pregnancy with asthma

Objective: To examine the relationship between asthmatic pregnancies and selected maternal and neonatal outcomes in a representative cohort. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital during the year 2004. A random selection was made of 65 asthmatic and 63 non-asthmatic singleton births. The neonatal outcomes studied were birth weight, premature birth and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes. The maternal outcomes studied were number of hospital admissions, and number of documented UTI during the studied pregnancy and past history of abortions and stillbirths. Resluts: The mean age of asthmatics and nonasthmatics were 28.0 +/- 4.9 years and 27.7 +/- 3.6 years respectively. The average parity among asthmatic women was 2.97 while that in controls was 2.57 (p \u3c 0.137). Neonates born to asthmatic mothers had shorter mean gestational age with increased risk of premature birth and lower Apgar scores. Asthmatic mothers had a greater risk of abortions and low birth weight babies. They also had higher rates of UTIs and hospital admissions. Conclusion: Asthmatic pregnancies are more likely to result in abortion, premature delivery and low birth weight babies. The asthmatic pregnancies were also linked with higher rates of maternal UTI. Thcrefore a more vigilant monitoring is required in asthmatic pregnancies

Clinical and electrophysiological efficacy of leaf extract of Gingko biloba L (Ginkgoaceae) in subjects with diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy

Purpose: To investigate the health benefits of Gingko biloba L. leave extract EGb 761 in patients with diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSP).Method: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo trial, patients (n = 156) received Gingko biloba (120 mg/day) or placebo for 6 months. Efficacy of Gingko biloba extract EGb 761 was assessed on the reduction in the scores of “Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire” (SF-MPQ) and improvements in latency, amplitude and conduction velocity of four sensory (ulnar, median, peroneal and sural) and four motor (ulnar, median, peroneal and tibial) nerves.Results: Gingko biloba significantly improved the mean scores of sensory, affective, visual analogue score (VAS) and present pain intensity (PPI) of SF-MPQ on 3 and 6 month post-treatment. At the start of experiment in the Gingko biloba-treated group, scores for sensory, affective, VAS and PPI domains were 12.90 ± 7.21, 4.40 ± 1.79, 4.38 ± 1.69 and 3.24 ± 0.78 respectively. After 6-months treatment with Gingko biloba, scores for sensory, affective, VAS and PPI domains were reduced (p < 0.01) to 7.24 ± 4.91, 3.11 ± 1.81, 3.37 ± 1.35 and 2.45 ± 0.65 respectively. Contrarily, in the placebo-administered group, sensory domain was (p < 0.01) deteriorated after 6 month (4.70 ± 1.87) compared to the baseline (4.04 ± 1.67). Gingko biloba extract EGb 761 failed to influence the electrophysiological measures when compared with the placebo group. The common adverse effects observed with Gingko biloba were somnolence and dryness of mouth compared with the placebo-treated patientsConclusion: Gingko biloba extract EGb 761 seems to be an effective and safe drug for reducing symptoms of DSP without any apparent effect on the electrophysiological attributes of sensorimotor nerves.Keywords: Diabetic polyneuropathy, Diabetes mellitus, Electrophysiological parameters, Gingko biloba, Sensorimotor nerves, Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnair

Do mutual funds have consistency in their performance?

Using a comprehensive data set of 714 Chinese mutual funds from 2004 to 2015, the study investigates these funds’ performance persistence by using the Capital Asset Pricing model, the Fama-French three-factor model and the Carhart Four-factor model. For persistence analysis, we categorize mutual funds into eight octiles based on their one year lagged performance and then observe their performance for the subsequent 12 months. We also apply Cross-Product Ratio technique to assess the performance persistence in these Chinese funds. The study finds no significant evidence of persis- tence in the performance of the mutual funds. Winner (loser) funds do not continue to be winner (loser) funds in the subsequent time period. These findings suggest that future performance of funds cannot be predicted based on their past performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modeling Traffic Congestion Based on Air Quality for Greener Environment: An Empirical Study

The primary focus of this paper is to govern traffic congestion on urban road networks based upon a cumulative approach comprising of traffic flow modeling, vehicle emission modeling, and air quality modeling. Based upon the traffic conditions, a simulation model is proposed and further tested for performance metrics, which is relative to three main aspects, namely, the waiting time of the vehicles at the junctions/intersections/signals, the type of pollutant emitted by a vehicle, and the traveling time. The experimental analysis and validation are carried out for different case studies in Malaysia, such as Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam, Mont Kiara, and Jalan Tun Razak. Three different scenarios (morning, afternoon, and evening) are analyzed and tested to explore the traffic usage parameter. The results showed that when traffic is modeled and governed based upon traffic flow, vehicle emission, and air quality index (AQI), nearly 75% of traffic congestion is mitigated, hence making the atmosphere pollution free as well as avoiding Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect due to the heat generated from vehicles. The experimental results are tested, validated, and compared with existing solutions for performance analysis. The proposed model is aimed toward overcoming the major drawbacks of existing approaches, such as single-path suggestions, traffic delay during peak hours/emergencies, non-recurring congestion consideration, congestion avoidance instead of recovering from it, improper reporting of road accidents, and notifications about traffic jam ahead to the users and high vehicle usage rate

Approaches to Establishing IT Security Culture

Information systems and internet are in very high demand to communicate, to run business process and to share information. This increase has alarmed of such issues and has raised few concerns of security and privacy. Companies are using various technologies to safeguard their assets but if people do not have full understanding of security issues and importance of security program and what threats and problems security threats could cause, all those technical measures are useless. People having no or very poor security knowledge could be the biggest vulnerability to information systems which can be exploited very easily and by several means. The core of my research was to investigate about corporate IT security culture within SMEs and how it can be achieved plus finding suitable means with which human error could be minimized by analyzing and studying suitable methods to deliver security awareness message to employees or staff members. Importance of IT security culture and how it can be achieved has been discussed in the following chapters, along with why awareness is important for successful implementation of an IT security Culture and different methods to spread awareness, training and education are also discussed according to SMEs. During the research one thing which has shown its importance and proved itself as a key factor behind the success of any security program is higher management. Higher management not only implement and design any security program but with the help of good communication it can change the behaviour of employees towards security. Using suitable methods of communication with employees can be very useful to mitigate against threats or any damage caused by a breach.School of Computing, Communications & Electronic

Do investors penalize the firms disclosing higher environmental performance? A cross cultural evidence

Climate change discourse integrates 3Ps – people, planet, and profit. However, we do not find any empirical study that integrates 3Ps. Therefore, using a large global panel dataset from 46 countries, this study intends to fill this gap by providing empirical evidence about investors’ value proposition of corporate climate performance in different cultural environments. The results show that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions affect corporate climate performance and its market pricing. We find that in cultures with high power distance, low individualism, high masculinity, high uncertainty avoidance, high long-term orientation, and high restraint, the investors generally penalize the firms disclosing higher environmental performance. Strangely enough, corporate waste production is universally value irrelevant. Our results indicate some policy implications

The impact of Islamic banking model and Islamic financial development on bank performance: Evidence from dual banking economies

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop an Islamic Banking Index representing the Islamic banking model and to investigate its impact on the performance of Islamic and conventional banks. This study also analyzes the impact of Islamic financial development on bank performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected the data from 23 countries for the period from 2010 to 2018 and developed a composite Islamic Banking Index. The authors applied the generalized method of moments on 3,542 bank-year observations for both Islamic and conventional banks to analyze the impact of the Islamic Banking Index on bank performance. The results of the study are robust to time-fixed effects, country-level time-varying factors and endogeneity issues. Findings The authors found that Islamic Banking Index positively contributes to the return on assets (ROAit) of Islamic banks only. This impact becomes highly significant in countries with comparatively higher Islamic financial development. This finding suggests that the Islamic financial development in a country provides a supportive operating environment to Islamic banks and increases their performance. The authors also found that Islamic Banking Index positively contributes to the return on equity (ROEit) of both types of banks. Practical implications The authors argue that moving away from interest-based products and focusing more on diversified portfolios can boost the performance of both types of banks without increasing their risk levels. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that develops a composite Islamic Banking Index based on differentiating factors of the Islamic banking model and investigates the impact of Islamic Banking Index and Islamic financial development on bank performance