A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF “THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINERâ€

If a specimen of literary art is seen as a fine tapestry of words made by the skilled seamstress—the poet, then the lexis and structure of a language are the raw materials—the fabric and the thread—by weaving which into specific patterns the finished product is achieved. The choice of materials and their arrangement into unique patterns always bear an image of their creator, or the artist; thus, a close view of them reveals the artist’s identity and brings out the meaningful message that underlies the ornate running threads. Mostly, the students of literary studies cannot appreciate the beauty of the literary classics on their own. Consequently, they simply mimic the ideas, and sometimes even the words, of famous professional critics when asked to give their own critical judgment on the aesthetic merit or the thematic quality of a literary work in the shape of a home assignment, classroom presentation or an annual assessment test. Now, the researcher has got the inspiration for carrying out this study from an idea expounded in Widdowson (1975) that this mimicry can be replaced by genuine individual opinion if the students, or even those people who have non-academic concerns with literature, are brought to a standpoint from where they can have a closer view of the raw materials, the language resources, which are involved in the making of a literary product. And, if the product in its finished form cannot elicit a desired response from them then making them sensitive to the process of its making can be quite effective in this regard. Through the present study, an attempt has been made to show an easy access to the outlandish world of verse by means of the linguistic route which is laid with the familiar flagstones of grammar and vocabulary. Meaning thereby that in this study the elusiveness of poetry will be dealt with the precision of a social scientist, the linguist. The approach which serves as the basis of this study is not an invention of the researcher; rather, it is a well-known twentieth century approach known as stylistics (Jeffries McIntyre, 2010, p. 30). Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous ballad, “The Rime of the Ancient Marinerâ€, being a widely read poem and bearing various stylistics features, offered itself as an ideal object for this study. The poet’s aesthetic message is explored by analyzing the finest details of his linguistic expression. And, careful considerations have been made throughout the study to prevent the overlooking of any instance of deviant linguistic units or recurring patterns for interpretation because such elements contribute largely to the meaning of any literary product. The study is descriptive in its nature therefore qualitative data has been integrated with and substantiated by the quantitative one.  Keywords: stylistics, literature, lexical, semantic and graphological deviation

Extended Value-Added Intellectual Coefficient and Financial Reporting Quality: Moderating Role of Global Financial Crisis

Besides traditional approaches, this study aimed to construct and validate the new model of intellectual capital and financial reporting quality and created a deeper and better understanding through the use of rigorous secondary data. It adopted new formula of intellectual capital instead of traditional primary measures and explored the role of financial reporting quality in financial success of firms. Study is helpful for decision makers, especially from the manufacturing sector, to mould their practices accordingly and they will also realize the importance of high financial reporting quality. The study used Three-stage least squares regression analysis to investigate the relationship between variables. Extended Value-Added Intellectual Coefficient method is used to measure intellectual capital and discretionary revenues method is used to measure financial reporting quality. Panel data was collected from 50 firms, included in fortune global 500 companies list from 2007 to 2017. Findings disclosed that intellectual capital and process capital has a significant impact on financial performance. Human capital and relational capital negatively influence however, innovation capital and financial reporting quality positively influence financial performance. Global Financial Crisis positively moderates the effect of intellectual capital on financial performance but it doesn’t moderate the effect of financial reporting quality on financial performance. Keywords: Financial Reporting Quality, Intellectual Capital, Global Financial Crisis, Financial Performance, Three-stage least squares regression DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-10-12 Publication date:May 31st 2019

Relationship between Volatility of Economics Variables and Economics Growth

Economic growth of an economy is defined as the steady state path through which the productivity of an economy is improved and increases the levels of national output and income. The government consumption expenditures and investment play a key role in the process of investigating the macroeconomic performance of an economy and determinants of economic growth. The countries which grow quickly, invest a substantial fraction of their GDP for consumption expenditures as well for the sources which encourage private investment. The objective of this study to calculate the volatility in economics growth in Pakistan. The annual time series data are used from 1975 to 2014 from WDI, Economics survey of Pakistan and Hand Book of Statistics. GARCH model has been used to measure volatility of all variables. The empirical results of the study confirmed that the volatility of the different variables (volatility of inflation, volatility of interest rate, volatility of political instability, volatility of GDP, and volatility of foreign direct investment) significant affect the government consumption expenditures and private investment in the economy of Pakistan. The study analyzed data by using the autoregressive distributive lag model which is mainly used in time series data Econometrics to estimate the non-stationary models with mix order of integration. The estimated results of the study evaluated that volatility of the inflation lead to uncertainty which is also suggested by the Able (1980) and negatively affect the economy consumption expenditures as well as private investment in the economy of Pakistan. Because uncertainty directly affects the cost of capital as well as reduce private investor confidence

Proposed Integrated System for Library Services and Online Education: A Pakistani Perspective

Purpose: Education is the basic need of each community member and educational institutions play a vital role in the development of any community and country as a whole. Also, libraries plays significant role in educating people or fulfilling educational needs of the society members. COVID-19 pandemic affects all sectors of life including educational institutes. However, libraries play dramatic role in the delivery of electronic services like e-thesis, e-books, e-research articles and virtual reference. The proposed study will provide a step-by-step guideline to individual researchers, research organizations, educational assessments organizations, government departments and policy development departments to plan and execute such innovative projects for the betterment of the educational system in the country. Similarly, libraries will get benefit to engage officially in providing e-services to community members. Through this proposed proposal the researchers may be able to identify the current status of educational institutions and their libraries in Pakistan in terms of educational institutions\u27 and their libraries strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the delivery of online educational programs and e-services of libraries during COVID-19 pandemic or in such other accidental situations. Research Methodology: The proposed study will be conducted through Explanatory Sequential Mixed Method Research to meet study objectives. Practical Implications: The proposed study will help in identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to online educational programs and e-services of libraries. Also, propose suggestions to educational institutions and libraries on the basis of identified strengths and opportunities for their better utilization. Similarly, it will identify the issues like weaknesses and threats to online educational programs and libraries in universities and will propose strategies for covering such deficiencies for the smooth delivery of online education and library online services while utilizing the existing resources. Also, benchmarking other developed organizations and may introduce resource sharing modules among the different organizations to overcome less developed organizations\u27 deficiencies while utilizing developed organizations existing resources

Epidemiology and Risk Factor Analysis of Fasciolosis in Buffaloes in District Bagh, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Fasciolosis is a cosmopolitan parasitic disorder cause great economic decline in cattle and buffaloes in terms of poor carcasses quality decrease in meat and milk production, malfunctioning of livers and weight loss. This research work was carried out in district Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, extending from December 2016 to May 2017. During this study 200 fecal sample from Buffaloes (Bablus bubalis) of the study area were collected, it was found that 40 percent fecal samples contain eggs of Fasciola hepatica and 60 percent fecal samples were negative. Liver samples of slaughtered buffaloes were also examined during study period and it was found that 74 samples have faciola, out of 200 samples, so 37 per cent samples contain F. hepatica and 63 per cent buffaloes liver samples were negative. It was observed that 19.25% animals of the area have parasites in their body, which are causing economic losses to the owners, in the form of less production of milk and meat and more mortality among the livestock and damages to farmers

Cytogenetic abnormalities in myelodysplastic syndromes: An overview

Karyotype is one of the main constituents of the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) and revised-IPSS that are the cornerstones for the prognostication of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Del(5q), -7/del(7q), +8 and -Y are among the most extensively studied cytogenetic abnormalities in MDS. The same applies for normal karyotype. There are hundreds of other rare cytogenetic abnormalities that have been reported in MDS, included but not limited to -X, 3q abnormalities, +13/del(13q), i(17q), +21/-21. However, due to a very low number of patients, their impact on the prognosis of MDS is limited. Knowledge of the molecular consequences of different cytogenetic abnormalities allows us to modify treatment regimens based on drugs most active against the specific karyotype present, allowing for the opportunity to individualize MDS treatment and improve patient care and prognosis

Empirical Assessment of Machine Learning Techniques for Software Requirements Risk Prediction

[EN] Software risk prediction is the most sensitive and crucial activity of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). It may lead to success or failure of a project. The risk should be predicted earlier to make a software project successful. A Model is proposed for the prediction of software requirement risks using requirement risk dataset and machine learning techniques. Also, a comparison is done between multiple classifiers that are K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Average One Dependency Estimator (A1DE), Naïve Bayes (NB), Composite Hypercube on Iterated Random Projection (CHIRP), Decision Table (DT), Decision Table/ Naïve Bayes Hybrid Classifier (DTNB), Credal Decision Trees (CDT), Cost-Sensitive Decision Forest (CS-Forest), J48 Decision Tree (J48), and Random Forest (RF) to achieve best suited technique for the model according to the nature of dataset. These techniques are evaluated using various evaluation metrics including CCI (correctly Classified Instances), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Relative Absolute Error (RAE), Root Relative Squared Error (RRSE), precision, recall, F-measure, Matthew¿s Correlation Coefficient (MCC), Receiver Operating Characteristic Area (ROC area), Precision-Recall Curves area (PRC area), and accuracy. The inclusive outcome of this study shows that in terms of reducing error rates, CDT outperforms other techniques achieving 0.013 for MAE, 0.089 for RMSE, 4.498% for RAE, and 23.741% for RRSE. However, in terms of increasing accuracy, DT, DTNB and CDT achieve better results.This work was supported by by Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Innovacion, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital, (project AICO/019/224)Naseem, R.; Shaukat, Z.; Irfan, M.; Shah, MA.; Ahmad, A.; Muhammad, F.; Glowacz, A.... (2021). Empirical Assessment of Machine Learning Techniques for Software Requirements Risk Prediction. Electronics. 10(2):1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics1002016811910

Assessment of Growth Inhibition of Eugenol-Loaded Nano-Emulsions against Beneficial Bifidobacterium sp. along with Resistant Escherichia coli Using Flow Cytometry

The intestinal tract microbiota influences many aspects of the dietary components on colon health and during enteric infections, thus, playing a pivotal role in the colon health. Therefore, the eugenol (EU) nano-emulsion effective concentration reported in our previous study against cancer cells should be explored for safety against beneficial microbes. We evaluated the sensitivity of Bifidobacterium breve and B. adolescentis against EU-loaded nano-emulsions at 0, 300, 600 and 900 µm, which were effective against colon and liver cancer cells. Both B. breve and B. adolescentis showed comparable growth ranges to the control group at 300 and 600 µm, as evident from the plate count experimental results. However, at 900 µm, a slight growth variation was revealed with respect to the control group. The real-time inhibition determination through flow cytometry showed B. breve viable, sublethal cells (99.49 and 0.51%) and B. adolescentis (95.59 and 0.15%) at 900 µm, suggesting slight inhibition even at the highest tested concentration. Flow cytometry proved to be a suitable quantitative approach that has revealed separate live, dead, and susceptible cells upon treatment with EU nano-emulsion against Escherichia coli. Similarly, in the case of B. breve and B. adolescentis, the cells showed only live cells that qualitatively suggest EU nano-emulsion safety. To judge the viability of these sublethal populations of B. breve and B. adolescentis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy was carried out, revealing no peak shift for proteins, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates at 900 µm EU nano-emulsion compared to the control. On the other hand, EU-loaded nano-emulsions (900 µm)-treated E. coli showed a clear peak shift for a membrane protein, lipids, DNA and carbohydrates. This study provides insights to utilize plant phenols as safe medicines as well as dietary supplements

Association of respiratory symptoms and lung function with occupation in the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been associated with exposures in the workplace. We aimed to assess the association of respiratory symptoms and lung function with occupation in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study. Methods We analysed cross-sectional data from 28 823 adults (≥40 years) in 34 countries. We considered 11 occupations and grouped them by likelihood of exposure to organic dusts, inorganic dusts and fumes. The association of chronic cough, chronic phlegm, wheeze, dyspnoea, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/FVC with occupation was assessed, per study site, using multivariable regression. These estimates were then meta-analysed. Sensitivity analyses explored differences between sexes and gross national income. Results Overall, working in settings with potentially high exposure to dusts or fumes was associated with respiratory symptoms but not lung function differences. The most common occupation was farming. Compared to people not working in any of the 11 considered occupations, those who were farmers for ≥20 years were more likely to have chronic cough (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.19–1.94), wheeze (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.16–1.63) and dyspnoea (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.53–2.20), but not lower FVC (β=0.02 L, 95% CI −0.02–0.06 L) or lower FEV1/FVC (β=0.04%, 95% CI −0.49–0.58%). Some findings differed by sex and gross national income. Conclusion At a population level, the occupational exposures considered in this study do not appear to be major determinants of differences in lung function, although they are associated with more respiratory symptoms. Because not all work settings were included in this study, respiratory surveillance should still be encouraged among high-risk dusty and fume job workers, especially in low- and middle-income countries.publishedVersio

Étude du rôle des xylosyltransférases I et II et de la kinase Fam20B dans la régulation de la biosynthèse des protéoglycanes

Heparan- (HS) and chondroitin-sulfate (CS) proteoglycans (PGs) are essential regulators of many biological processes including cell differentiation, signalization, proliferation and morphogenesis. Indeed, PGs act through their glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains as receptors for growth factors, enzymes and cell adhesion proteins, thereby modulating their bioavailability, gradient formation and biological activity. The assembly of HS and CS GAG chains is initiated by the transfer of xylose to serine residues of PG core protein by the xylosyltransferases (XT) enzymes, XT-I and XT-II. These enzymes catalyze a rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis pathway and therefore considered as a regulating factors in the GAG biosynthesis process. Beside the regulation by XT enzymes, GAG chain synthesis may also be regulated by phosphorylation of the xylose residue at 2-0 position by the kinase Fam20B. Ithas been shown that XT-I and XT-II are able to restore GAG-attached PG synthesis in xylosyltransferase-deficient cells, suggesting that they are functionally redundant. However, nothing is known of the specific roles of XT-I and XT-II ifany and of the impact of XT-I and XT-II mutations on the synthesis of CS- and HS-PG. Here, we showed that XT-I initiates PGs with large size CS- and HS-GAG chains compared to XT-II and demonstrated that this was linked to their subcellular localisation. In addition, we have addressed the question of whether genetic mutations of XT-I and XT-II associated with various diseases impact CS- and HS-PG synthesis and found that mutations in XT-I strongly reduced the capacity of the enzyme to initiate the synthesis of both CS and HS GAG chains. However, two mutations in XT-II abrogated the capacity of the enzyme to initiate CS and HS GAGs and led to the mislocalisation of the enzyme. Furthermore, we demonstrated using variouse cell lines and dead mutants that Fam20B negatively regulates GAG synthesis process and that phosphorylation of xylose residue by this kinase resulted in a blokage of the polymerisation procees of the GAG chainLes protéoglycans (PGs) à héparane- (HS) et chondrol'tine-sulfate (CS) jouent un rôle essentiel dans la régulation de nombreux processus biologiques tels que la différenciation cellulaire, la signalisation, la prolifération et la morphogenèse. En effet, les PGs via leurs chaînes de glycosaminoglycanes (GAGs) agissent comme des récepteurs pour des facteurs de croissance, des enzymes et des protéines d'adhésion cellulaire, modulant ainsi leur biodisponibilité, la formation de gradient et leur activité. La synthèse des chaînes de CS et d'HS est initiée par le transfert d'un résidu xylose sur des sérines de la protéine "core" des PGs par les xylosyltransferases (XT), XT-I et XT-II. Ces enzymes catalysent une étape limitante régulant la biosynthèse des GAGs. En plus de la régulation par les XT, la synthèse des GAGs peut être régulée par la phosphorylation du xylose en position 2-0 par la kinase Fam20B. Il a été montré que la XT-I et la XT-II sont capables de restaurer la synthèse des PGs dans les cellules déficientes en activité xylosyltransférase, suggérant ainsi qu'elles sont fonctionnellement redondantes. Cependant, les rôles spécifiques de la XT­ I et de la XT-II et l'impact de leurs mutations génétiques sur la synthèse des CS et des HS ne sont pas connus. Au cours de cette thèse, nous avons montré que la XT-I initie la synthèse des PGs avec des chaînes de CS et d'HS de tailles plus longues que celle initiée par la XT-II et avons démontré que cela est lié à leurs localisations subcellulaires respectives. En outre, nous avons montré d'une part que les mutations génétiques de la XT-I réduisent fortement la capacité de l'enzyme à initier la synthèse des GAGs et d'autre part que deux mutations de la XT-II conduisent à la mislocalisation de l'enzyme et l'abrogation de sa capacité à initier la synthèse des chaînes de CS et d'HS. En outre, nous avons démontré en utilisant différentes lignées cellulaires et des mutants inactifs que la kinase Fam20B régule négativement le processus de synthèse des chaînes de GAGs et par conséquent que la phosphorylation du résidu xylose par Fam20B entraîne un blocage dans la polymérisation des chaînes de GAG