Differentiation between heuristic and meticulous domain of financial risk taking propensity

Relaxing the assumption of rational human being, this study examined the risk taking aspect of financial decision making. In this study financial risk taking propensity is explored with altogether new facet and classify it in two domains. First domain highlights advantageous aspect for wealth and economic prosperity while second can be a menace for wealth and prosperity. Literature is precisely collected to sharpen this peculiarity and to reach on imperative determinants of each domain. Objective is to create differentiation (distinction, discrepancy, peculiarity) between affective (heuristic) and cognitive domain of financial risk taking propensity using empirical approach.  Our results predict that in heuristic domain the bias of dispositional affect and propensity to rely on emotions are significantly dominant factors to take risky investment. Whereas, in beneficial risk taking domain (called cognitive), financial literacy, financial self-efficacy, stock market knowledge and thoughtful analytical processing style found to have significant impact. The evidences reported in this study not only support insightful investment decisions but also elaborate risky behavior of renowned financial players

Review of short term and long term performance of initial public offering

In today’s modern corporate world the concept of initial public offerings has gained much importance because it’s over and under performance can significantly affect the success of company. The current study aims at conducting a nonsystematic review of literature on the concept of initial public offering in order to understand its meaning and dimensions. In this regard a thorough review of existing literature has done and it has found that initial public offering concept has been explained by theorists in different ways. It meaning has significantly changed with changes in the business trends of corporate world. It was further found that over performance in short run and underperformance in the long run of initial public offering has remained mystified for the researchers although the performance of initial public offerings has significant effect on success or failure of a company. It is therefore concluded that the researchers should try to comprehend the conceptual nature and dimensions of initial public offering by examining its effects on the success of companies. In this way the companies in modern corporate world can ensure their success through effective utilization of initial public offerings

Estimation of Combining Ability for the Development of Hybrid Genotypes in Helianthus annuus L

Plant materials were developed by L×T crossing fashion of nine lines and four testers and their thirty six hybrids were sown in field during 2011 in RCBD design with three replications. Genetic variability, general and specific combining abilities among genotypes was assessed under the research area of department of plant breeding and genetics, university of agriculture, faisalabad, Pakistan. The Line G-93, and G-79 expressed highly significant GCA effects for days to flowering, days to maturity, internodal length, head diameter, %age of filled achenes, 100 achene weight, achene yield per plant and oil contents but they showed best general combiner. Among testers A-85 expressed highly significant GCA effects for days to flowering, days to maturity, 100 achene weight, achene yield per plant and oil contents whereas A-5 exibited best general combiner for days to flowering, days to maturity, internodal length, achene yield per plant and oil contents. The cross G-65×A-85 revealed highest SCA effect for days to 50% flowering and days to maturity, head diameter, 100 achene weight, achene yield per plant and oil contents. The results of analysis of variance were determine among entries for all the traits at significant level (p ? 0.01-0.05). Key words: GCA, SCA, line × tester, oil contents and yield

Combining Ability and Heteroses Analysis for Seed Yield and Yield Components in Brassica napus L.

Line × tester analysis of three testers and five lines of Brassica napus L. were used to estimate combining ability and heterosis of plant height, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant. Significant mean squares of treatments for yield components and seed yield indicated significant genetic variations among the genotypes including parents and their crosses. Parents Vs crosses mean square indicated, average heterosis was significant for all the traits except plant height. Line × tester mean square was significant for all the traits. High GCA to SCA ratio; indicated the prime importance of additive genetic effects for all traits except seed yield per plant. Significant positive general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were observed. Most of the crosses had significant positive over better parent heterosis of seed yield, indicating that these hybrids were suitable candidates for improving these traits using combination method. Key words: Combining ability, Heteroses, Line × Tester, Brassica napus L

Does the inflow of remittances cause environmental degradation? Empirical evidence from China

Remittances inflow plays a significant role in promoting the economic welfare of a country; it has a multidimensional effect on the economy and links with the carbon emissions. This study examines the possible asymmetric transmissions from remittances to carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in China using time series data from 1980 to 2014. The Non-linear NARDL method is employed to check the longrun asymmetric relationship between remittances inflow and carbon emissions. The findings show that a positive shock in remittances causes an increase in CO2 emissions, while a negative shock in remittances causes a decrease in CO2 emissions. The results support the existence of an asymmetric cointegrating relationship between remittances and CO2 emissions in both short run and the long run. The NARDL dynamic multiplier graph assumes that positive remittances shocks are highe compared to the negative remittances shocks. It suggests that policymakers in China should consider remittances as a policy instrument especially designing strategies and policies related to sustainable environmental quality in the long run

Correlation between serum ferritin level and liver function tests in thalassemic patients receiving multiple blood transfusions

Background:Multiple blood transfusions are the mainstay of thalassemic patients in order to combat the severe anemia. These frequent blood transfusions result in the excessive iron deposition, leading to multiple injuries to a variety of organs in the body. In response to these injuries, the levels of various enzymes are disturbed. The whole phenomena usually involve the interrelation of one parameter with some other. The present study aimed to estimate the levels of serum ferritin and hepatic enzymes and to find out any possible correlation between them in thalassemic patients receiving multiple blood transfusions.  Methods:A total number of 90 thalassemic patients of both sexes ranging from 10-15 years, receiving multiple blood transfusions were included in the present study. Blood samples from all the patients were withdrawn and analyzed for the values of serum ferritin, hemoglobin and hepatic enzymes (serum alanine transaminase, serum aspartate transaminase, serum alkaline phosphatase). Pearson correlation coefficient was applied to observe correlation between serum ferritin level and hepatic enzymes. A P value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:The overall values of serum ferritin, and hepatic enzymes (serum Alanine Transaminase, serum Aspartate Transaminase, serum Alkaline Phosphatase) were remarkably increased than their normal values. However, hemoglobin level was considerably decreased in thalassemic patients. A weak positive insignificant correlation was observed between serum ferritin with hepatic enzymes and hemoglobin in thalassemic patients.Conclusion:Multiple blood transfusions cause iron overload in the body, which in turn, lead to increased serum ferritin levels in thalassemic patients. High levels of hepatic enzymes are somewhat correlated to serum ferritin concentration. However, the exact reason of elevated levels is still unclear. Further detailed studies should be conducted in order to identify the exact mechanism behind this and to search for the promising correlations of various parameters in thalassemic patients receiving multiple blood transfusions.

Resilience and quality of life (QoL) of head and neck cancer and brain tumour survivors in Pakistan: An analytical cross-sectional study protocol

Background: Cancer is a devastating disease and has detrimental effects on the quality of life (QoL) of cancer survivors and interferes with their treatment compliance. The aim of the study is to assess resilience and QoL among cancer survivors and to evaluate the important factors affecting their resilience and QoL, with respect to the Pakistani cultural context.Method and Analysis: A cross-sectional study will be conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. A minimum sample size of 250 head and neck cancers and 250 brain tumour survivors with 10% inflation for non-response rate will be required. The SD of QoL and resilience will range from 16.5 to 40.8 for head and neck cancer, and 12.7 to 34.1 for brain tumour, at 5% level of significance, with 2.5 precision. QoL will be assessed by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-H&N35 and EORTC QLQ-BN20 and resilience will be evaluated by Wagnild and Young\u27s 14-item scale. Mean±SD will be reported for resilience and QoL scores. Unadjusted and adjusted β-coefficients, with 95% CI, will be reported by using multiple linear regression analysis. Correlation analysis will also be performed using Pearson or Spearman rank correlation coefficients. A p value of \u3c0.05 will be considered significant.Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval has been obtained from the Aga Khan University Pakistan\u27s Ethical Review Committee. Written informed consent will be taken from the participants by trained research assistants. A trained psychologist will provide on-spot counselling to the participants and those identified with severe depression will be referred to a psychiatrist. The study materials will be kept under lock and key and the electronic data base will be password protected and will only be accessed by the research team. The study findings will be disseminated through publications conferences and workshops and research briefs

A niche particle swarm optimization-perks and perspectives

Optimization is a method for searching the best candidate solution to lessen or expand the value of the objective problem. Broadly speaking algorithms can be orgabized into four main classes, i.e. biology-based algorithms, physics-based algorithms, sociology-based algorithms, and human intelligence-based algorithms. Swarm-intelligence (SI) based algorithms appeared as a commanding family of optimization techniques. The paper aims to commence a brief review of meta-heuristic algorithms especially Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and its sister variants in short. The understudy paper covers all important aspects of swarm intelligence PSO with deep insight learning for practitioners and scholars

Assessment of nematodes in Punjab Urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) population in Kalabagh game reserve: development of a DNA barcode approach

Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) is a wild sheep of Pakistan, considered a vulnerable species by IUCN. Major threats to urial populations include habitat loss and poaching, causing severe declines in its population. Nematode infections may also compromise urial survival, but little is known about Punjab urial gastrointestinal nematodes. In this study, a novel DNA barcoding approach was developed using ITS-I as a target region, with a primer pair designed to amplify frequently reported nematode species for small ruminants. The novel primer pair was validated in silico and in vitro and subsequently used to determine the presence of nematodes in Punjab urial samples from Kala Bagh Game Reserve, District Mianwali (Pakistan). DNA barcoding revealed a higher prevalence of Haemonchus contortus (73.91%), Trichuris ovis (16.30%) and Trichostrongylus axei (3.26%) in Punjab urial. This study demonstrates that the novel DNA barcoding approach is a robust tool to detect nematode parasites from faecal samples of Punjab urial. This method can be used to detect nematode infections in wild and domestic hosts for surveillance and population conservation