Global environment and factors affecting the salary of the CEO (chief executive officer) of a goods producing firm: an Econometric modeling approach using STATA

The flattening of the world thanks to the cluster of profound socio-economic and politico-cultural changes has created unprecedented challenges for organizational leadership and management. The fast evolving global world of ours where challenges have to be continually met requires timely decision taken by CEOs’ (Chief Executive Officers) who shape and give direction to world politics and economic order. In the light of this we have studied the decisions taken by CEOs’ of goods producing firms’ and their decisions on firm’s productivity and profitability which in turn depend to a great deal on CEOs’ salary structure. Better salary leads to influx of people from all over the world often leading to brain drain situation in developing countries. Globalization has created social disparities in the present economic system that are molded by the increasing polarization of work between people working in high paid knowledge sectors and others working in low paid sectors. Prior research has suggested that in a global environment capitalists benefit from other capitalists who pay higher salaries from the expansion of income. The salary data of 177 CEOs’ (Chief Executive Officers) for the year 1990 – published in the Business Week of June 6, 1991 has been analyzed to determine and correlate the effects of sales, market value (mktval), profit and CEOs’ tenure (ceoten) on the CEOs’ salary. The performance of goods producing firms where the CEOs’ served has been found to be strongly correlated with their salary intakes. The basic purpose of this research and study is to analyze the deciding factor in the salaries of top executives. The CEOs’ are the policy makers in all government and non-governmental organizations and their decision-taking greatly influences the performances of their institution. CEOs’ performance with respect to their salaries and other variables mentioned above is found to be the deciding factor as regards policy execution matters in goods producing firm’s performances.Econometric model; multicollinearity; STATA10; elasticity; employment tenure and market value

Ototoxicity of Topical Antibiotic Ear Drops in Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media in Humans: A Review of the Literature

An electronic search of the literature was performed for reported cases of ototoxicity associated with the use of topical antibiotic ear drops in humans. The dosage, duration, and type of ototoxic preparations involved were recorded. Due to the scant quantity of low-quality information that is currently available, there was uncertainty about the usefulness of topical antibiotics in enhancing the resolution of ear discharge in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media. However, despite this uncertainty, there are some data to show that using topical antibiotics in comparison to a placebo or in conjunction with a systemic antibiotic may be useful. Additionally, there is ambiguity regarding the relative efficacy of various kinds of antibiotics; it is impossible to say with absolute certainty whether quinolones are superior to or inferior to aminoglycosides. Although the adverse impact profiles of these two classes of chemicals varied, there are not enough data from the included trials to draw any conclusions about them. Negative effects were generally underreported

Impact of social interdependence on emotional well-being of medical students

OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of social interdependence on emotional well-being in medical students.METHODS:This cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi from June 2013 to January 2014 and comprised first-year medical students of 5 private and 3 public-sector colleges. Students of both genders aged 19-24 years were included. Quantitative aspects of social and emotional wellness were evaluated using a structured questionnaire from the wellness wheel on a four-point Likert\u27s scale (score ranging from 0 to 3). Two focus group discussions were conducted in each medical college from the qualitative aspect.RESULTS:Of the 736 participants, 526(71.47%) were females and 210(28.53%) were males. Males reported significantly less inclination towards exhibiting fairness, solving problems, teaching batch fellows and attending group discussion (p\u3c0.05). They were significantly least anxious with less frequency of helping others during emotional outbursts (p\u3c0.05). Females had higher frequency of close friends and self-improvement (p\u3c0.05). The scores of social wellness were significantly better in females compared to males (p\u3c0.001) while there was no significant difference in emotional wellness on the basis of gender (p\u3e0.05). Social communication and help was highly positively correlated with self-content in students (p\u3c0.05)

Acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinopathy: A case report

A 25-year-old male presented with a complaint of acute visual loss in his right eye for two days. There was a history of visual loss in the left eye six months ago. Comprehensive eye examination showed evidence of posterior uveitis, and a placoid lesion on the right fundus. Further physical examination showed maculopapular rashes on the upper back which was highly suggestive of syphilis. Blood tests for venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) test and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test were ordered, which were both positive. Ocular syphilis should be suspected in all cases of uveitis. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment with appropriate antibiotics can prevent permanent visual loss

Recovery of rare earth elements from low-grade coal fly ash using a recyclable protein biosorbent

Rare earth elements (REEs), including those in the lanthanide series, are crucial components essential for clean energy transitions, but they originate from geographically limited regions. Exploiting new and diverse supply sources is vital to facilitating a clean energy future. Hence, we explored the recovery of REEs from coal fly ash (FA), a complex, low-grade industrial feedstock that is currently underutilized (leachate concentrations of REEs in FA are < 0.003 mol%). Herein, we demonstrated the thermo-responsive genetically encoded REE-selective elastin-like polypeptides (RELPs) as a recyclable bioengineered protein adsorbent for the selective retrieval of REEs from coal fly ash over multiple cycles. The results showed that RELPs could be efficiently separated using temperature cycling and reused with high stability, as they retained ∼95% of their initial REE binding capacity even after four cycles. Moreover, RELPs selectively recovered high-purity REEs from the simulated solution containing one representative REE in the range of 0.0001–0.005 mol%, resulting in up to a 100,000-fold increase in REE purity. This study offers a sustainable approach to diversifying REE supplies by recovering REEs from low-grade coal fly ash in industrial wastes and provides a scientific basis for the extraction of high-purity REEs for industrial purposes

Global environment and factors affecting the salary of the CEO (chief executive officer) of a goods producing firm: an Econometric modeling approach using STATA

The flattening of the world thanks to the cluster of profound socio-economic and politico-cultural changes has created unprecedented challenges for organizational leadership and management. The fast evolving global world of ours where challenges have to be continually met requires timely decision taken by CEOs’ (Chief Executive Officers) who shape and give direction to world politics and economic order. In the light of this we have studied the decisions taken by CEOs’ of goods producing firms’ and their decisions on firm’s productivity and profitability which in turn depend to a great deal on CEOs’ salary structure. Better salary leads to influx of people from all over the world often leading to brain drain situation in developing countries. Globalization has created social disparities in the present economic system that are molded by the increasing polarization of work between people working in high paid knowledge sectors and others working in low paid sectors. Prior research has suggested that in a global environment capitalists benefit from other capitalists who pay higher salaries from the expansion of income. The salary data of 177 CEOs’ (Chief Executive Officers) for the year 1990 – published in the Business Week of June 6, 1991 has been analyzed to determine and correlate the effects of sales, market value (mktval), profit and CEOs’ tenure (ceoten) on the CEOs’ salary. The performance of goods producing firms where the CEOs’ served has been found to be strongly correlated with their salary intakes. The basic purpose of this research and study is to analyze the deciding factor in the salaries of top executives. The CEOs’ are the policy makers in all government and non-governmental organizations and their decision-taking greatly influences the performances of their institution. CEOs’ performance with respect to their salaries and other variables mentioned above is found to be the deciding factor as regards policy execution matters in goods producing firm’s performances

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Salmonella Species in Southern Pakistan

Introduction Typhoid fever is a major infectious disease among the pediatric population of Pakistan. With inappropriate use of antibiotics and rising trends of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extended drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid, it is becoming a public health emergency. This study evaluated the current trends in antibiotic susceptibilities to Salmonella (S) typhi and paratyphi A, B, and C in southern Pakistan. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study, conducted in the Pediatrics Department, Civil Hospital, Jamshoro from July to December 2018, included children with S. typhi and S. paratyphi A and B strains isolated from the laboratory-based culture of blood samples. Results There were 223 (81.1%) children with S. typhi and 52 (18.9%) with S. paratyphi isolates. Their mean age was 5 ± 3 years. The most common age group with S. typhi strains was two to five years (n = 102; 37.1%). Previous trials of antibiotics were taken by 162 (58.9%) children; 65 (40.1%) of these were physician-prescribed. Cefixime was most commonly taken (66.6%), followed by ciprofloxacin (33.3%). Cefixime and ceftriaxone showed 60.9% and 65.8% sensitivity, respectively. Ciprofloxacin sensitivity was seen in 50.1% S. typhi isolates. There were six (2.6%) cases of MDR typhoid and two (0.9%) cases of XDR typhoid. Conclusion Resistance to second-line antityphoid agents is increasing. Therefore, there is a need to modify prescribing behavior. The outbreak of XDR typhoid among children is an alarming public health concern for Pakistan. Widespread antibiotic stewardship programs must be conducted

Plant genome editing using engineered nucleases and success of CRISPR/Cas9 system

Development of new plant breeding techniques have facilitated easy manipulation of plants at genetic level. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR associated protein9 (Cas9) system is a valuable addition in programmable nucleases. The CRISPR/Cas9 system uses an RNA component to recognize a target DNA sequences and it has shown promising results with respect to simultaneous editing of multigenic plant traits. In this review, components of CRISPR/Cas9, their construction and its methods of delivery to plant cells are analyzed. Variation in nucleotide sequence of the protospacer adjacent motif, codon optimization and progress in web-based bioinformatic tools, will make CRISPR/Cas9 systems more efficient for plants. Development and optimization of protocols to efficiently target all plant species is still under development. Along with this, methods to inspect induced mutation and efficiency of the system have also been reviewed. Auxiliary improvements and understanding are still required to expand the CRISPR/Cas9 systems to target complex genome architectures and epigenetic elements

Knowledge, attitude, and practices of complementary and alternative medication usage in patients of type II diabetes mellitus

Introduction Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming popular among individuals affected by chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus. We aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices of complementary and alternative medicine use among type 2 diabetes patients in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods An observational, prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in the institute of diabetology in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan from 1st March 2018 till 31st August 2018. All patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the clinic for routine follow-up visits during the study period were interviewed. Their demographic characteristics, clinical data, and knowledge, attitude, practices towards use of CAM products were assessed. Data was managed using SPSS for Windows version 16.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Results CAM therapies were being used by 151 (57.8%) individuals. Herbs (n = 121; 80.1%), specific diets (n = 98; 64.9%), and cupping (n = 68; 45.0%) were the most readily utilized CAM practices. CAM practices were associated with diabetes-related complications [p \u3c 0.000; Odds Ratio (OR) 2.57; Confidence Interval (CI) 1.53, 4.34], poor glycemic control (p \u3c 0.000; OR 0.29; CI 0.17, 0.5), lack of trust in pharmaceutical products (p \u3c 0.000; OR 5.08; CI 2.28, 11.32), poor patient-doctor relationship (p = 0.06; OR 1.47; CI 0.26, 8.17), CAM products being readily available and cheaper (p \u3c 0.000; OR 6.1; CI 3.02, 12.32), and belief that CAM products have fewer side effects (p \u3c 0.000; OR 12.32; CI 6.83, 22.22) and can help in diabetes control (p \u3c 0.000; OR 35.76; CI 16.79, 76.15). Conclusion Use of complementary medicine products among Pakistani diabetic population is high. Herbs and specific diets were common modes of CAM practices. Use of CAM showed significant association with female gender, older age, unemployment, longer duration of diabetes, diabetes-related complications, and poor glycemic control