The Quest for Happiness in Nina Leeds from the Play Strange Interlude by Eugene O’Neill

This research has explored the quest for happiness in Nina Leeds. The conceptual framework of Soran Frank has been used for this research. It is derived proposition from his work Migration and Literature that the quest has four stages. First stage is Quest in which a character feels longing for something. The second stage is Inquest in which a character puts effort to gain that thing. The third stage is Conquest in which a character attains the thing and become happy. The last stage is Consequent in which a character loses the thing and again this whole process continues. This proposition also suggests that the happiness is momentary. It lasts for some time and then it vanishes. The same thing is found in the character of Nina Leeds. Throughout the play, she runs after happiness which she attains momentarily. After attaining the happiness, something erodes that happiness and she begins to run after happiness again. It carries on until she gets utterly disappointed and stops longing for happiness. She undergoes all these four stages throughout the play but she realizes at the end that it is futile quest to long for happiness because it never lasts. So, finally she gets herself out of this quest. Keywords: Quest, Happiness, Strange Interlude, Eugene O’Neil

Antioxidant, biofilm inhibition and mutagenic activities of newly substituted fibrates

Purpose: A series of benzylidene-2-(4-bromophenoxy)-2-methyl propane hydrazides (1-10) were synthesized and assay them for their biofilm inhibition, antioxidant and mutagenic. Methods: All derivatives were prepared by condensation of various substituted benzaldehyde and acetophenones with 2-(4-bromorophenoxy)-2-methyl propane hydrazide, which was itself prepared by hydrazinolysis of ethyl-2-(4-bromophenoxy)-2-methyl propanoate and were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR 13C NMR, mass spectrometry. They were screened for their in-vitro anti-oxidant, biofilm inhibition and mutagenicity by established methods. Results: Anti-oxidant results revealed that the electron donating group enhanced the scavenging ability of the compounds as seen in compounds 4b, 4h and 4i. In biofilm inhibition studies, all compounds were more active against Gram –ive bacterial strain when compared to gram +ive strain. The mutagenicity assay results indicate that the compound having chloro group substitution is mutagenic. Conclusion: The benzylidine compounds of 2-(4-bromophenoxy)-2-methyl hydrazide possessing electron donating substituents exhibit superior activities to the electron withdrawing group substituents

Impact of Training and Development on Organization Performance with Mediating Role of Intention to Quit as Human Resource Quality Cost

The study is focused on the analysis of the impact of the training and development efforts in the  Small  and Medium  Enterprises  of  Pakistan  on  the  intention  of  employees  to  leave  the organization  considering  it  as  an  expense  and  the  wastage  of  time  and  resources  by  the organization.  The  study  will  also  evaluate  the  ultimate  impact  of  the  intentions  of  the employees  on  the  performance  of  the  organization.  The salary  based  employees  of  the organizations  having  5 –  250  employees  have  been  selected  on  the  basis  of  stratified sampling  technique  for  the  data  collection  purposes.  Out  of 600  questionnaires  distributed, 290  were  returned  and  278  were  used  for  the  study.  The relationship of training and development and organization performance has been found to be positively mediated by the intention of employees to quit the organizations. The positive relationship might exist due to the  number  of  other  factors  like  inflation,  less  job  opportunities  existing  in  the  Pakistani context. The study will be highly significant for the practitioners in the SMEs, shifting their focus towards the increased training and development efforts

EVADING LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS, A CASE OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

For decades economic growth determinants have been the centre of attention among theoretical and development economists. Theoretical economists have built models of economic growth, while development economists were concerned about how these growth models behave in the long run. Previouslyresources were considered as an engine to growth, but they were prone to diminishing returns. The more recent models emphasized the role of knowledge augmented labor which may defy diminishing returns. For this, human capital is proposed as one of the main ingredients to economic growth as proposed by both neo-classical and new growth models. This studyanalyseswhether there is a precedence of the law of diminishing returns in sixty-six lower-income nations of the world.And determine whether the indicators of human capital index (HCI) can ease this diminishing return. The HCI is developed into four sub-indexes which are Capacity, Deployment, Development and Know-how. We used the robust OLS method to find how therefour sub-index of human capital work in this group of countries. The results show that the convergence hypothesishints atthe law of diminishing returns for sample countries. But by investing in human capital, or one of its sub-components, the intensity of diminishing returns will be eased

The Effectiveness of the ‘Extended Sick Neonatal Score in Predicting Mortality in a ResourceConstrained Neonatal Care Uni

Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the extended sick neonatal score (ESNS) in neonates admitted in a resource-limited neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Peshawar. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study Place and Duration of Study: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, CMH Peshawar Pakistan, from Mar to May 2020. Methodology: Primary data was collected from 60 neonates admitted to NICU after taking consent from the parents. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to determine the clinical score (ESNS) cut-off value in predicting mortality. Result: The sensitivity and specificity of the Extended sick neonatal score to predict mortality among neonates was 93.3% and 97%, respectively, for a cut-off of 12.5. The area under the ROC curve was 0.990 (95% CI: 0.971–1.000). This was statistically significant with a p-value of <0.001 Conclusion: Extended Sick Neonatal score is an important tool that helps predict the risk of mortality of a neonate without the help of any invasive diagnostic procedure, thus enhancing the prioritization of health care to the most deserving neonates

Morphometric analysis of soldier cast of Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) and Microtermes obesi (Holmgren) (Blattodea: Termitidae; Macrotermitinae) from three localities of Potohar region, Pakistan

A great diversity of termite species is found all over the world, among these 53 species are identified from Pakistan. The knowledge about morphological features in soldier cast of termites is proved to be a technical tool for taxonomy and identification. In the present studies, the morphometric variations of external morphology in soldier caste of Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) and Microtermes obesi (Holmgren) from three different areas i.e. Gujar Khan (A), Rawalpindi (B) and Islamabad (C) were studied. About 36 characters like body, thorax, abdomen, from head to mandible tip, head, pronotum, postmentum, mandible, antenna (scape, pedicle, flagellum), and legs parts were used for morphometric measurements. The data were statistically analyzed for significant differences in their mean, standard deviation, standard error, 95% confidence interval, coefficient of variability and analysis of variance. “Student t-test” was used for the comparison of mean values using Minitab version 16. The results of the present study revealed no significant differences among the population samples collected from various localities. However little variations were observed in a few characters like antennal segments (pedicle, scape) and legs (trochanter, tibia) among the soldier cast which are adaptive in nature to survive in the environment

Safety and effectiveness of ultrasound guided peripheral nerve blocks: Audit at tertiary care hospital

Objective: To assess the safety and effectiveness of peripheral nerve blocks using ultrasound.Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised data of all patients who received peripheral nerve blocks as part of anaesthesia care between January 2015 and January 2017. The data included outcomes of peripheral nerve block effectiveness, complications and limb conditions after the block. Peripheral nerve block effectiveness was assessed by monitoring pain scores at rest and on movement, and the requirement of co-analgesia. Complications, like numbness, motor block, metallic taste, hypotension and respiratory depression, were also assessed. Data was analysed using SPSS 19.Results: There were 299 patients who received ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks. The overall mean age was 44.57±16.64 years. Of the total, 140 (47%) received transversus abdominis plane block, followed by supraclavicular block 49(16.7%). The most common complication in the recovery room was numbness 19 (6.2%). Overall, 70% patients remained pain-free, while 16% had moderate pain on movement 12 hours postoperatively.Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia was found to provide effective analgesia during and after surgery. Nerve blocks proved to be safe when used with ultrasound

Exploring the Linkages Among Economic Growth, Openness, Income Inequality, Education and Health in Pakistan

The present study is an attempt to investigate empirical linkages among economic growth, openness, income inequality, education and health in Pakistan during 1974-2009 by using annual time series data. Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root test is utilized to check stationarity of the variables. Long-run relationship is confirmed through Johansen and Juselius cointegration test. VECM is proposed to check short-run and long-run dynamics. Toda-Yamamoto causality test is utilized for observing the causality. Diagnostic tests are utilized to confirm the validity of the model. The results support strong positive impact of openness of trade, education and health on economic growth in the long-run whereas income inequality is negatively associated with economic growth. The study finds significant five uni-directional causalities and two bi-directional causalities among variables. For achieving higher economic growth in Pakistan attention must be directed towards decisive economic policies related to liberalizing trade, provision of education and health facilities and to reduce income inequality.JEL Classification: F43, F13, I19, I29Key words: Economic Growth; Openness; Income Inequality; Education; Healt

Scanning electron microscopic evidence of Cocconeis convexa Giffen from North Arabian Sea, Pakistan

Marine epiphytic diatom Cocconeis convexa Giffen was observed from a sample collected just after an incidence of Tasman Spirit Oil Spill in 2003. This species was isolated from only one sample collected from station # 2 along the sandy beach of Clifton, Karachi. Morphological characters described in this study were observed from Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) image, this is the first report from North Arabian Sea Pakistan

First detailed taxonomic report of Coscinodiscus jonesianus from North Arabian Sea after Tasman Spirit Oil Spill

This study concerns first detailed taxonomic record and distribution of Coscinodiscus jonesianus from North Arabian Sea bordering Pakistan after an incident of Tasman Spirit Oil Spill. The study comprised of 5 phytoplankton samples collected immediate after Tasman Spirit Oil Spill (TSOS) and 16 samples after 1.5 year of spill in Bioremedial Project (BP). Scanning Electron Microscopic illustrations along with morphometric comparisons have also been presented