Investigating the practices of project governance in public sector infrastructure program in Pakistan

The governance of public sector infrastructure projects became an important area of interest in the literature on project management. Today, it is a focal point for policymakers to ensure successful appraisal and implementation of government-sponsored programs. This paper aims to investigate the current practices of project governance (PG) for steering the public sector infrastructure program in Pakistan. An empirical investigation was carried out among professionals of public sector organizations involved in different infrastructure development projects. Latent construct of PG was validated through second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and quantified the three dimensions of PG, i.e., portfolio direction (PD), sponsorship, effectiveness, and efficiency (SEE), and disclosure and reporting (DR) through the relative importance index (RII) method. The result showed that DR is among the least practicing dimension having RII = 0.55, while PD and SEE have shown similar prevalence with RII = 0.70 and 0.69, respectively. Overall, the most practicing item in the PG was "the alignment of portfolios with objectives and strategy" whereas the lowest practicing item relates to the "completeness of project information distribution due to the multi-layered bureaucratic system." The findings of this study will guide the decision makers to take appropriate measures for enhancing the effectiveness of PG in Pakistan

PANC Study (Pancreatitis: A National Cohort Study): national cohort study examining the first 30 days from presentation of acute pancreatitis in the UK

Abstract Background Acute pancreatitis is a common, yet complex, emergency surgical presentation. Multiple guidelines exist and management can vary significantly. The aim of this first UK, multicentre, prospective cohort study was to assess the variation in management of acute pancreatitis to guide resource planning and optimize treatment. Methods All patients aged greater than or equal to 18 years presenting with acute pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria, from March to April 2021 were eligible for inclusion and followed up for 30 days. Anonymized data were uploaded to a secure electronic database in line with local governance approvals. Results A total of 113 hospitals contributed data on 2580 patients, with an equal sex distribution and a mean age of 57 years. The aetiology was gallstones in 50.6 per cent, with idiopathic the next most common (22.4 per cent). In addition to the 7.6 per cent with a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, 20.1 per cent of patients had a previous episode of acute pancreatitis. One in 20 patients were classed as having severe pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria. The overall mortality rate was 2.3 per cent at 30 days, but rose to one in three in the severe group. Predictors of death included male sex, increased age, and frailty; previous acute pancreatitis and gallstones as aetiologies were protective. Smoking status and body mass index did not affect death. Conclusion Most patients presenting with acute pancreatitis have a mild, self-limiting disease. Rates of patients with idiopathic pancreatitis are high. Recurrent attacks of pancreatitis are common, but are likely to have reduced risk of death on subsequent admissions. </jats:sec

IMPACT OF NETWORK SCALABILITY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF RIP AND IGRP FOR EMAIL SERVICES

Dynamic routing is one of the major areas in computer networks, in which routing protocols are used to automate the process of routing. Routing protocols dynamically determine best path(s) to every network. Routingprotocols are classifed as distance vector and link-state routing protocols. Routing Information Protocol (RIP) and Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) are examples of distance vector while Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)and Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) are link-state routing protocols. Both RIP and IGRP are using different metrics to evaluate best route to a destination in the network. RIP uses a simple metric value ofhop-count while IGRP uses a composite metric. A composite metric consists of several attributes like bandwidth, delay, reliability, Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) and load. Usually it is considered that because of the simplemetric value, RIP produces better results for any application in simple network architectures. This paper studies the performance of RIP and IGRP in simple networks of different sizes, using email application as evaluation entity. The objective is to fnd that where, in simple network architectures, RIP with its simple metric will produce better email services or IGRP will win the race with the help of its composite metric. This study also investigates the effect of scalability on both of the routing protocols when the size of the network grows. The behavioural study of RIP and IGRP for email, in different sizes of networks, will also help in evaluating the behaviour of simple and composite metrics. Simulations and experiments results indicate that IGRP produces better results for email services as the size of the network becomes more scalable and the number of hops between source and destination increases, even if simple network architecture is followed. The results also indicate that IGRP consumes relatively less CPU pulses of email server

Investigating the effect of Aspergillus niger inoculated press mud (biofertilizer) on the potential of enhancing maize (Zea mays. L) yield, potassium use efficiency and potassium agronomic efficiency

Globally field application of mineral potassium (K) fertilizer has grown, followed by reduced K use efficiency (KUE) and K agronomic efficiency (KAE) which ultimately leads to environmental pollution and economic loss. The soils of Pakistan have a low K level due to a higher proportion is present in an unavailable form. The objective of the current study was to isolate efficient plant growth-promoting fungus to sustainably manage huge burden of sugar industry waste press mud into a productive biofertilizer. K from biofertilizer was then evaluated in different treatments for maize biological yield, grain yield, harvest index (HI), K uptake in different maize parts, KUE and KAE in comparison to mineral fertilizer (MF). The efficiency of treatment was measured on higher KUE and KAE. In-vitro studies revealed that A. niger PM-4 was found to solubilize phosphate (389 ug/ml) and zinc (115 ug/ml) from insoluble tri-calcium phosphate and zinc oxide, respectively, at a wider temperature and pH range. The strain was also found to inhibit the production of aflatoxins and its inoculation into press mud produced non-phytotoxic and mature biofertilizer with germination index 96.5%. Bio-augmentation of press mud with A. niger shortens maturity period with improved nutrient contents. Higher grain yield and harvest index of maize were achieved with a higher amount of incorporated K from mineral and biofertilizer T5(100%Org+50%MF) than any other treatment. However, higher KUE and KAE were found in the following order: T6 > T5 > T2 > T3 > T4 > T1, demonstrating the integrated and balanced use of K from mineral and biofertilizer without threatening the environment

Proceedings of the International Conference on Frontiers in Desalination, Energy, Environment and Material Sciences for Sustainable Development

This proceeding contains articles on the various ideas of the academic community presented at the International Conference on Frontiers in Desalination, Energy, Environment and Material Sciences for Sustainable Development (FEEMSSD-2023) &amp; Annual Congress of InDA (InDACON-2023) jointly organized by the Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology Gorakhpur, KIPM-College of Engineering and Technology Gida Gorakhpur, and Indian Desalination Association, India on 16th-17th March 2023.  FEEMSSD-2023 &amp; InDACON-2023 focuses on addressing issues and concerns related to sustainability in all domains of Energy, Environment, Desalination, and Material Science and attempts to present the research and innovative outputs in a global platform. The conference aims to bring together leading academicians, researchers, technocrats, practitioners, and students to exchange and share their experiences and research outputs in Energy, Environment, Desalination, and Material Science.  Conference Title: International Conference on Frontiers in Desalination, Energy, Environment and Material Sciences for Sustainable Development &amp; Annual Congress of InDAConference Acronyms: FEEMSSD-2023 &amp; InDACON-2023Conference Date: 16th-17th March 2023Conference Location: Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, GorakhpurConference Organizers: Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology Gorakhpur, KIPM-College of Engineering and Technology Gida Gorakhpur, and Indian Desalination Association, Indi