An Empirical Examination of E-Government Virtual Services: Mediating Role of Users’ Perceived Usefulness

Government websites are the repository of information where citizens can timely access substantial and reliable information. It is normal to find antagonism between formulators and users of e-government virtual services (EGS). This study is designed to assess the quality of virtual services provided by Pakistani government websites. Data is collected from 278 university graduates using simple random sampling technique. Results of Smart PLS show that the survey respondents exhibit positive attitude towards perceived system quality (PSQ) and perceived information quality (PIQ) of the websites. They also perceive e-government websites useful and display their satisfaction to e-government virtual services. Finally, findings provide support to mediating role of users’ perceived usefulness (UPU). Policymakers and practitioners can take advantage of the findings to design more citizen centered government websites to optimize their satisfaction with mandatory services

PCR-based efficacy assessment of hepatitis B core antibody and hepatitis B surface antigen screening tests in the blood donor population

Objectives: To assess the screening efficacy of HBsAg and HBcAb serological assays in comparison with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), as the gold standard.Methodology: This was a cross-sectional prospective study was conducted from November 2019 to February 2020, at the Department of Pathology and Transfusion Medicine, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad, Pakistan. A total of 7,550 donations were screened for HBsAg through Chemiluminescence Microparticle Immunoassay. Out of 7,550, 186 HBsAg reactive, and 208 HBsAg non-reactive samples were selected randomly for the study. The screening tests for HBsAg and HBcAb were run in parallel with PCR as the gold standard. In the statistical analyses, the specificity, sensitivity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated using the PCR results as the gold standard. Kappa agreement was also calculated. Results: A total of 394 blood samples were tested with reactivity rate of HBsAg (n= 186) 47.2% (186/394), HBcAb (n= 210) 53.2% (210/394) and PCR (n= 188) 47.7% (188/394). Kappa agreement for HBsAg and HBcAb were calculated as 0.961 and 0.886 respectively. The results showed 5.5% false positive results by HBcAb test.Conclusion: HBcAb screening showed false-positive results. HBsAg screening found to be the best possible choice that can give credible results, considering the high cost of the molecular assays

Variations in physico-chemical and antioxidant attributes of grape seed oil as function of extraction techniques

The aim of the current research work was to assess and compare the impact of two extraction techniques on the physico-chemical, and antioxidant parameters of grape seed oil (GSO). The GSO extracted by Soxhlet and Folch methods indicated a notable variation in the oil yield (8.58 % and 10.19%) and saponification value (196.35 and 189.33 mg of KOH g-1), respectively. However, no significant (p<0.05) variation was detected for density, acid value, refractive index, iodine no, unsaponifiable matter, and free fatty acids between the tested two oils. Meanwhile, the oil produced by Soxhlet method exhibited relatively a higher extent of unsaturated dienes, trienes, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, and thus poor oxidation state. A notable variation in the content of principal fatty acid (linoleic acid) was recorded between Folch extracted oil (70.11%) and Soxhlet extracted oil (66.57%). The contents of total tocopherols were noted to be considerably higher for Folch extracted oil (105.55 mg kg-1) than the Soxhlet extracted oil (73.70 mg kg-1). Among the individual phenolics analyzed by HPLC, gallic acid (14.02 mg kg-1) and caffeic acid (5.20 mg kg-1) were detected as major component in Folch extracted oil and Soxhlet extracted oil, respectively. The results of the present comparative study support that Folch method is relatively a good choice for the extraction of GSO with promising nutritive quality in terms of oxidation parameters, contents of linoleic acid and antioxidant phenolics

How to develop research question and select a research topic

The content of the book have systematically been designed starting from history of Medical Writing, Designing/ Planning of a Scientific Study, Literature Search, Data Collection, Basic Statistics, Research Proposal for Funding, multi facets of Medical Writing, Authorship Guidelines, Peer Review, Scientific Misconduct and Predatory Journals. Each of these themes have been elaborated with various dimensions, width-wise and depth-wise. A due attention has also been focused on Medical Ethics wherever pertinent. Each chapter ends with a list of relevant reference to provide ready evidence and to give space of the researchers to explore it further. The inclusion of quotable quotes at places on a good article, rejection of a paper, clinical skills, pressure on an editor, medical editors, the editor’s passport to heaven, peer reviewers and the like have rendered the book palatable and digestible and provided a literary look (social science)

The Mediating Impact of Self-Confidence on Relationship of Perceived Formal Support and Entrepreneurial Intention in the Education Sector of Pakistan: Dr. Kashif Rathore, Saba Shaukat, Kashif Ali, Arshad Haroon

The purpose of this study is to find out the mediating influence of selfconfidence level (SC) on the relationship of perceived formal support (PFS) and students‟ entrepreneurial intention (EI). There are few studies that investigated the influence of mediator (self confidence level). As a result, this study contributes to the area of entrepreneurship. The study used a crosssectional research design. The population of this study consists of final year undergraduates of University of the Punjab, Lahore. Sample consists of 250 students from three departments. Zero-order correlation, multiple regression analysis and t-test are used for data analysis. The multiple regression analysis shows that self-confidence level (SC) significantly mediates the relationship of perceived formal support (PFS) and entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of students. Furthermore, t-test shows that male and female students significantly different in terms of perceived formal support (PFS) but there is no difference between male and female students in terms of their entrepreneurial intentions (EI).&nbsp

Mediating Role of Work Engagement in the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention: An empirical evidence from Hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan: Dr. Rizwan Qaiser Danish, Amna Gohar, Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad, Saba Shaukat

The basic purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention in the presence of mediating variable of work engagement in hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaire which was distributed among public and private hospital nurses holding positions of nurse or head nurse. The sample size was 270. SPSS and AMOS software was used for demographic and inferential analysis. Results conclude that job satisfaction with determinants of JS (pay, promotion, nature of job etc.) have negative relationship with turnover intention. Results also showed that work engagement has partial mediating role in the relationship of job satisfaction and turnover intention. This study mainly focused on service sector (hospitals) in Lahore. So the results are limited to only service sector which narrow down its generalizability. Current study is cross sectional and longitudinal study is recommended to generalize results. The survey data was collected from nurses of one city that is Lahore it required to do similar research on other cities of Punjab. Various studies in literature have explored relationships among different variables of organizational behavior rather than explaining any other mechanism; they have focused much on their relationships but less on mediating relationship of work engagement

Monitoring the Causes of Blood Donation Deferrals among Prospective Blood Donors in Northwest Region of Pakistan

Objective: To evaluate and monitor the causes of blood donor deferrals at a Regional Blood Centre in northwest Pakistan. Methodology: This was a retrospective study of blood donor deferrals at the Regional Blood Centre in Peshawar. The blood donor data were extracted from the ZAAVIA blood transfusion information system (BTIS) database. The information and data expropriated from the database comprised of those from donor medical history questionnaire, physical examination (e.g. haemoglobin estimation), TTI screening results, and a decision on deferral (temporary and permanent). Results: The study included a total of 42,570 potential donors presented for blood donation over a four years period (June 2016 – May 2020), out of which 41,817 donors met the inclusion criteria and donated blood. The total deferral rate was 6.37% (n=2,682). Among these deferred donors, 44.44% (n=1,192) were deferred temporarily whereas 55.56% (n=1,490) were deferred permanently. The leading causes of temporary deferrals included syphilis (14.16%), low haemoglobin (8.28%), and underweight (5.97%). On the other hand, hepatitis B (30.38%) was the main cause of permanent deferral followed by hepatitis C (21.59%). The general percentage of deferrals was higher among those less than 32 years of age (P&lt;0.001), were females (P&lt;0.001), and were first-time blood donors (P&lt;0.001). Conclusion: Blood donor deferral was responsible for 6.37% of all blood donations. The findings of the current study demands adequate preventive strategies to address the prevailing causes of deferrals such as low haemoglobin levels and infections with HBV and HCV

Evaluation of cardioprotective potential of hydroalcohol peel extract of Citrullus colocynthis Linn. (Cucurbitaceae)

Purpose: To investigate the cardioprotective potential of hydroalcoholic peel extract of C. colocynthis against adrenaline-induced myocardial ischemia in rabbits. Methods: 24 healthy male rabbits were split into 4 groups. Group-I rabbits were administered with subcutaneous injection of adrenaline for two days consecutively. Group-II, Group-III and Group- IV rabbits were given 100, 200 and 300mg/kg of peel extract of C. colocynthis for 14 days orally and the adrenaline was injected on the 14th and 15th day. Histopathology was done to the necrosis level. Results: Adrenaline-induced group significantly (p&lt; 0.001) elevated the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine-kinase (CK-MB) and troponin-I. Groups treated with plant extract showed cardioprotective effects by causing a significant decrease (p &lt; 0.001) of all the abovementioned biomarkers in comparison with the adrenaline treated group. The cardiac tissues of the adrenaline-treated group showed more necrosis, and mild disintegration of cardiac tissues was observed in groups that had been pre-treated with extract. Conclusion: Pretreatment of rabbits with peel extract produces a cardioprotective effect against adrenaline-induced myocardial damage. Thus, the extract can potentially be utilized as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders