Growth Prospects and Customer Expectations in Islamic Banking

Islamic Banking has gained enormous popularity in Pakistan in a short span of time and still has a huge potential to grow in the market. Many Conventional Banks having Islamic Banking windows and a few full-fledged Islamic banks are striving hard to remain alive in the stiff competition for market share, resulting in more banking choices for the customers. Still there is lot to be achieved and the whole banking system has to get rid of the curse in the form of Riba, which has strongly been denounced and prohibited in the Holy Quran. Islamic Banks at the moment hold merely 9.4% of the whole banking Market which is far below than desired. In this study, an attempt will be made to analyze the growth trends in the Islamic banking and its implications for the society and the economy in particular. Customers’ perceptions & expectations and certain myths regarding Islamic banking will also be captured during the study. This will not only help us in understanding the potential and opportunities available in the industry but also give an idea that what the customers want and expect from Islamic banking. Moreover, the study will also add to the latest pool of knowledge on the subject. There seems a dearth of updated quality research on the matter and this will serve as an important reference and latest work on Islamic Banking in Pakistan

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

Qualitative phytochemical analysis of some selected medicinal plants occurring in local area of Faisalabad, Pakistan

The Qualitative analysis is very essential to identify the phytochemical constituents present in medicinal plants. The medicinal value of plants is due to the presence of particular bioactive constituents. In present study qualitative analysis of seven medicinally important plants, namely Carica papaya (Papaya), Cichorium intybus (Cichory), Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel), Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco),  Rosa damascena (Red rose), Solanum nigrum (Makao) and Trachyspermum ammi (Ajwain) was done. Saponins, tannins, terpenoids, steroids, starch, total sugar, free reducing sugars, ascorbic acid, alkaloids, phenols, flavoniods and glycosoides were analyzed qualitatively by following the standard protocols. Rosa damascena and Foeniculum vulgare contained all tested constituents. Terpenoids and starch were present in all plant species except Nicotiana tobaccum. Saponins were present in all plants instead of Cichorium intybus

Frequency and Characteristics of Breast lymphomas presenting to a tertiary care hospital, Pakistan

Objective: To assess the relative frequency of (primary and secondary) mammary lymphomas presenting to a tertiary care hospital, Pakistan and its categorization according to WHO classification of lymphoid neoplasms. Methods: All NHLs (nodal and extra nodal) diagnosed in the section of histopathology during 1992-2004 were retrieved and reviewed. All patients (n=30) diagnosed with lymphomatous involvement of the breast were selected. Distinction between primary and secondary breast lymphomas was not made owing to lack of availability of clinical information. Results: A total of 5637 breast malignancies were diagnosed in our department during the study period of 10 years and the total number of NHLs (Nodal and extra Nodal) was 2632. Thirty (n=30) patients accounting for 1.13% were diagnosed to have lymphomatous involvement of the breast. The Female to Male ratio was13.5:1; age range was 12-92 years with a median age of 43 years (Mean age 46.5 years and Standard deviation of age was 16.88 years). The sites of the lesions were the right breast in 11 cases (37.93%), left breast in 9 cases (31.03%) and both breasts in 2 cases (6.89%), while the location of 8 masses (27.58%) was unknown. Immunohistochemical studies were negative for cytokeratins (MNF and Cam 5.2) in all cases. All cases of DLBCL expressed B cell lineage antigens and were positive for LCA and Pan B (CD20 and 79a). Conclusion: We concluded that breast lymphomas represent 1.13% of all NHL and 0.5% of all breast malignancies in this study. The most frequent morphologic type was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. As patients with primary breast lymphoma have a better prognosis than those with carcinoma of the breast or patients with extranodal lymphomas, a multidisciplinary approach including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy when needed would result in a more favourable outcome

Hepatic angiosarcoma with metastasis to small intestine

Hepatic angiosarcomas are rare tumours with poor prognosis, with patients usually dying within 6 months. Metastases mainly occur in lymph nodes, spleen, lungs, bones and adrenals. Metastasis to small intestine is even rarer. Similarly, primary or metastatic angiosarcomas in small intestine are extremely rare, often present with recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia, and have an extremely poor prognosis. Both primary or metastatic intestinal angiosarcomas may exhibit epithelioid morphology. It may be very difficult to differentiate between primary and secondary cases in intestine and especially when the tumour exhibits epithelioid morphology

Impacts of signal free corridors on the incidence of road traffic accidents in Karachi

Increase in road Traffic Accidents is a global phenomenon and Pakistan is no exception. In Karachi, this problem becomes severe due to rapid growth of population. This menace is ruining the lives of thousands of people and making Karachi a worrisome place to live. Recent road geometrical transitions in the city with insufficient accessories have been reducing the problem of traffic congestion to a limited extent. On the contrary, this has erupted as a problem of Road Traffic Accidents which is reaching out of proportions. Recently, induction of a unique feature named, Signal Free Corridor in Karachi has cost many precious lives. In this paper GIS based analysis has been employed by using buffer technique to document the number of Road Traffic Accidents on four Signal Free Corridors, evaluated for five different years. It was revealed that the minor injury accidents were highest in all four Signal Free Corridors. However, in some cases number of severe and fatal road accident cases showed the emerging trend as well. Four types of road users were identified on these corridors out of which riders/pillion and pedestrians were the most vulnerable to Road Traffic Accidents. There is an emergent need to enforce the vehicle speed rules and regulations that would provide breathing time to traffic as well as reduce the incidents of consistent traffic blockages and rising Road Traffic Accidents

Colorectal Carcinoma, Extent and Spread in our Population. Resection Specimens give Valuable Information

Objective: To acquire information about the extent and spread of colorectal carcinomas in our population by examining colon and colorectum resection specimens received.Methods: All colon and colorectum resection specimens received in the section of Histopathology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from January 1, 2003 to July 31, 2003 were included in the study.Results: Eighty five resection specimens were received during the study period, 69.41% patients were males, and 30.59% were females. The mean age for males was 49 years and for females 48 years. Tumor location was in left colon (58.82%), and in right colon (41.18%). The average size of the lesions in largest dimension was 5.5cms. Majority (83.53%) were colorectal adenocarcinomas, 71.76% cases were grade II, 16.47% were grade I, and 11.76% were grade III. Most cases (85.88%) infiltrated full thickness of the bowel wall extending into the pericolonic fat. Vascular invasion was seen in 16.47% cases. Radial margin was positive in 23.08% of rectal carcinomas and 57.65% cases showed lymph node metastases.Conclusion: The findings in our study demonstrate that the disease is usually very advanced with extension into pericolonic fat and positive lymph nodes. Thus, the early detection and resection (while the disease is still in an early stage) are essential in our population using better surgical techniques, for proper staging of these tumor

Improved Model Predictive Direct Power Control for Parallel Distributed Generation in Grid-Tied Microgrids

This research proposes an improved finite control set direct power model predictive control method (FCS-DPMPC) for grid-tie distributed generation (DG). FCS-DPMPC predicts the system outcomes using the system model. During the next sampling time, a voltage vector is defined using the cost function to minimize the power ripple, consequently allowing flexibility for power regulation. Furthermore, the impact of implementing a one-step delay is studied and compensated through a model forecast pattern. In addition, a new two-step horizon technique has been developed to minimize switching frequency and computation burden. Simulation results for single DG and parallel operated DGs in a grid-tie manner confirm the effectiveness of the suggested control strategy, which signifies that this is an appropriate approach for distributed generation in microgrids.© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed