Objectives of Islamic banks: a missive from mission statements and stakeholders’ perceptions

Purpose & Significance: It is believed that the core aim of Islamic institution is idiosyncratic from conventional business entities. Considering this presumption, this study entails to reveal the understandings of various stakeholders about objectives of Islamic banks. Methodology: The research endeavor is based on the findings of two distinctive studies, where study-1 was aimed at investigating the communication of objectives through mission statements of Islamic banks and conventional banks with window operations. Here mission statements were analyzed using content analysis and readability & understandability tests. The study-2, on the other hand, was aimed at investigating the understandings of various stakeholders, both internal (employees) and external (Muslim & non-Muslim customers of both Islamic and conventional banks, employees & management of conventional banks, and business students). 370 responses were received and analyzed in this study. Findings: Findings (study-1) unveil, the fact, that the mission statements of Islamic banks working in Pakistan are not good at communicating the corporate goals clearly. Out of ten banks investigated for study-I, it is evident that only one bank (HBL, with window operations) was at par with readability threshold standards. Thus it was imperative to share that mission statements of Islamic banks are difficult to read and comprehend. Study-2, adds further by revealing that most of the stakeholders are not clear about the objectives of these banks, while customers of conventional banks don’t value the distinctive objectives of Islamic banks. Implications: This study leaves a valuable message for the policy makers and top management of Islamic banks, by focusing on the unattended part on their end, i.e. quality of mission statements and stakeholders’ perception about the objectives of their organization. Thus highlighting the needs of greater emphasis on the communication flow to stakeholders, as the clarity of business purpose may change the way customers react towards the business and opt for banking – customer relation in future. Originality: This study covers a multi-dimensional investigation of the understanding and communication of objectives of Islamic banks. There is dearth of literature focusing on the aspects of content analysis, mission statement readability & understandability and investigation of stakeholders’ perception in tandem

Development and Comparative Analysis of Electrochemically Etched Tungsten Tips for Quartz Tuning Fork Sensor

Quartz Tuning Fork (QTF) based sensors are used for Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM), in particular for near-field scanning optical microscopy. Highly sharp Tungsten (W) tips with larger cone angles and less tip diameter are critical for SPM instead of platinum and iridium (Pt/Ir) tips due to their high-quality factor, conductivity, mechanical stability, durability and production at low cost. Tungsten is chosen for its ease of electrochemical etching, yielding high-aspect ratio, sharp tips with tens of nanometer end diameters, while using simple etching circuits and basic electrolyte chemistry. Moreover, the resolution of the SPM images is observed to be associated with the cone angle of the SPM tip, therefore Atomic-Resolution Imaging is obtained with greater cone angles. Here, the goal is to chemically etch W to the smallest possible tip apex diameters. Tips with greater cone angles are produced by the custom etching procedures, which have proved superior in producing high quality tips. Though various methods are developed for the electrochemical etching of W wire, with a range of applications from scanning tunneling microscopy (SPM) to electron sources of scanning electron microscopes, but the basic chemical etching methods need to be optimized for reproducibility, controlling cone angle and tip sharpness that causes problems for the end users. In this research work, comprehensive experiments are carried out for the production of tips from 0.4 mm tungsten wire by three different electrochemical etching techniques, that is, Alternating Current (AC) etching, Meniscus etching and Direct Current (DC) etching. Consequently, sharp and high cone angle tips are obtained with required properties where the results of the W etching are analyzed, with optical microscope, and then with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Similarly, effects of varying applied voltages and concentration of NaOH solution with comparison among the produced tips are investigated by measuring their cone angle and tip diameter. Moreover, oxidation and impurities, that is, removal of contamination and etching parameters are also studied in this research work. A method has been tested to minimize the oxidation on the surface and the tips were characterized with scanning electron microscope (SEM)

Targeting chromosomal instability: screening and characterization of CIN killers.

Chromosomal INstability (CIN), a hallmark of cancer cells, refers to a state in which cells have an increased rate of gain or loss of whole chromosomes or large chromosomal fractions. CIN is linked to the progression of tumours with poor clinical outcomes such as drug resistance and metastasis. Chromosomal instability is mainly caused by defective chromosomal segregation during mitosis and normally prevented by cellular checkpoints. As CIN is not found in normal cells, it offers a cancer-specific target for therapy, which may be particularly valuable because CIN is common in advanced tumours that are resistant to conventional therapy. In this study, to identify targets which can specifically induce apoptosis in CIN cells, a CIN model was generated by knocking down the spindle assembly checkpoint in Drosophila. Defects in the checkpoint lead to high rate of chromosomal segregation defects (lagging chromosomes and chromosome bridges). An RNAi screening approach was used and the set of kinases and phosphatases was screened to identify those candidates that induce apoptosis only in CIN cells. Genes identified include those involved in JNK signaling pathways, mitotic cytoskeletal regulation and metabolic pathways. This screen demonstrates that it is feasible to selectively kill cells with CIN induced by spindle checkpoint defects. It has identified candidates that are currently being pursued as cancer therapy targets (e.g. Nek2: NIMA related kinase 2), confirming that the screen is able to identify promising drug targets of clinical significance. Further screening and characterization of the JNK pathway demonstrated that signalling through JNK is required to tolerate CIN which is consistent with the fact that many tumours show high levels of JNK expression. JNK signaling is involved in the DNA damage repair process by maintaining an efficient damage repair and anti-oxidant levels which resolves DNA damage before entry into mitosis. Knockdown of the JNK pathway results in unrepaired DNA damage which leads apoptosis only in CIN cells via the caspase dependent pathway, partly independent of p53. Similarly, it was observed that the G2 length, which is required for DNA damage repair is crucial for the survival of CIN cells. These results suggest that JNK is necessary for the proper regulation of the DNA damage induced delay prior to mitotic entry and crucial for the survival of CIN cells, which are already coping with elevated levels of stress. In addition, CIN can enable tumours to acquire genetic diversity which can provide an advantage in terms of growth and proliferation under stress and also provide resistance against cancer therapies, but this comes at the cost of significant stress to tumour cells. CIN cells evolve their metabolic pathways to increase the ability to tolerate and survive under oxidative and proteotoxic stress, but are still sensitive to these pathways. This study demonstrates the possibility to target both CIN and metabolism for the treatment of highly diverse drug resistant tumours. Further metabolic genes were screened and we demonstrated that CIN cells are particularly sensitive to certain metabolic alterations that do not affect normal cells. These metabolic disruptions lead to high levels of oxidative stress in CIN cells, which are already managing elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. These potential therapeutic targets are clinically highly desirable because of their potential effects on unstable and highly resistant CIN tumours. In conclusion, a new Drosophila model for CIN was used to demonstrate the principle that it is possible to selectively kill CIN cells. Our RNAi screen identified candidates whose depletion has the potential to kill proliferating CIN cells without affecting their normal counterpart. An efficient DNA damage repair mechanism is required to tolerate CIN and can be used as a target to kill these unstable cells which are already dealing with high levels of DNA damage from ROS. Furthermore, CIN cells are sensitive to metabolic alterations, especially those which are needed to tolerate high levels of proteotoxic and oxidative stress. This study is a significant advance in understanding the target pathways which are involved in CIN tolerance. Further characterization of these pathways may help to identify mechanisms by which cancer cells can tolerate the adverse effects of CIN and aneuploidy which in turn may lead to the identification of novel targets that can specifically kill advanced and drug resistant-CIN tumour cells without harming normal cells.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, 201

Sterile Inflammation in Drosophila

The study of immune responses in Drosophila has already yielded significant results with impacts on our understanding of vertebrate immunity, such as the characterization of the Toll receptor. Several recent papers have focused on the humoral response to damage signals rather than pathogens, particularly damage signals from tumour-like tissues generated by loss of cell polarity or chromosomal instability. Both the triggers that generate this sterile inflammation and the systemic and local effects of it are only just beginning to be characterized in Drosophila. Here we review the molecular mechanisms that are known that give rise to the recruitment of Drosophila phagocytes, called hemocytes, as well as the signals, such as TNFα, that stimulated hemocytes emit at sites of perceived damage. The signalling consequences of inflammation, such as the activation of JNK, and the potential for modifying this response are also discussed

Impacto de la amenaza financiera en el cambio de comportamiento del inversor: el efecto moderador del apoyo social durante la Covid19 en Pakistan

The objective of this study is to investigate the antecedents of financial threat and its relationship with one’s inclination to change financial behavior and its health condition. The population of this study comprises small investment holders which have investment in life insurance policies. The explanatory research design is used in this research to know the causal relationship between all the variables. This study used primary data collected through questionnaires by visiting respondents personally. The respondents selected randomly and conveniently used to approach the respondent for ease of data collection. The Smart PLS3 different data techniques applied for data inferences in this study.  This study explores that economic hardship and financial anxiety both are positively associated with financial threat, and financial threat also significantly related to willingness to change financial behavior and psychological distress. The study also revealed that financial threat mediates between both independent and dependent variables. The most novel contribution from this study was the role of social support which significantly moderated the relationship between financial threat and willingness to change financial behavior. This study made a healthy contribution in existing literature about financial threats and provided great practical suggestions for individual household investors, and highlighted the problems faced by these small investment holders. El objetivo de este estudio es investigar los antecedentes de la amenaza financiera y su relación con la inclinación de uno a cambiar el comportamiento financiero y su estado de salud. La población de este estudio comprende a pequeños tenedores de inversiones que tienen inversiones en pólizas de seguros de vida. El diseño de investigación explicativa se utiliza en esta investigación para conocer la relación causal entre todas las variables. Este estudio utilizó datos primarios recopilados a través de cuestionarios visitando personalmente a los encuestados. Los encuestados seleccionados al azar y convenientemente utilizados para acercarse al encuestado para facilitar la recopilación de datos. Las diferentes técnicas de datos Smart PLS3 aplicadas para inferencias de datos en este estudio. Este estudio explora que las dificultades económicas y la ansiedad financiera están asociadas positivamente con la amenaza financiera, y la amenaza financiera también se relaciona significativamente con la voluntad de cambiar el comportamiento financiero y la angustia psicológica. El estudio también reveló que la amenaza financiera media entre variables independientes y dependientes. La contribución más novedosa de este estudio fue el papel del apoyo social, que moderó significativamente la relación entre la amenaza financiera y la voluntad de cambiar el comportamiento financiero. Este estudio hizo una contribución saludable a la literatura existente sobre las amenazas financieras y brindó excelentes sugerencias prácticas para los inversionistas domésticos individuales, y destacó los problemas que enfrentan estos pequeños inversores

One-Carbon and Polyamine Metabolism as Cancer Therapy Targets

Cancer metabolic reprogramming is essential for maintaining cancer cell survival and rapid replication. A common target of this metabolic reprogramming is one-carbon metabolism which is notable for its function in DNA synthesis, protein and DNA methylation, and antioxidant production. Polyamines are a key output of one-carbon metabolism with widespread effects on gene expression and signaling. As a result of these functions, one-carbon and polyamine metabolism have recently drawn a lot of interest for their part in cancer malignancy. Therapeutic inhibitors that target one-carbon and polyamine metabolism have thus been trialed as anticancer medications. The significance and future possibilities of one-carbon and polyamine metabolism as a target in cancer therapy are discussed in this review

Style of Faculty Members as Predictor of Satisfaction and Extra Effort: Evidence from Institutes of Higher Learning

Abstract Satisfaction of the Students and extra effort from their side is considered to be success of the faculty member in any institute. The current study seeks to determine the role of faculty members as leaders who influence their students through individualized consideration and contingent rewards and whether their style satisfies their students and urges them to perform some extra efforts. The study was conducted in institutes of higher learning in which faculty members are highly qualified and students are mature. The data were collected from 265 faculty members using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The analyses are conducted using SPSS and Microsoft Excel to find out whether these two dimensions predict the satisfaction and extra effort. Implications of the study and recommendations for future research are also discussed

<em>Drosophila</em> as a model for chromosomal instability

Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a common feature of tumours that leads to increased genetic diversity in the tumour and poor clinical outcomes. There is considerable interest in understanding how CIN comes about and how its contribution to drug resistance and metastasis might be counteracted. In the last decade a number of CIN model systems have been developed in Drosophila that offer unique benefits both in understanding the development of CIN in a live animal as well as giving the potential to do genome wide screens for therapeutic candidate genes. This review outlines the mechanisms used in several Drosophila CIN model systems and summarizes some significant outcomes and opportunities that they have produced