Contemporary Issues in Current Account Operations in Pakistani IBs - Sharia Compliant Solution

Contemporary Sharia scholars have three stances about the Current Account Operations in Pakistani Islamic Banks (IBs) i.e., (i) Ijarah based contract (ii) Wadi’ah based contract, and (iii) Qard based contract. This paper is an attempt to delve into the root causes of the differences of scholars and to find the Sharia-compliant solution acceptable for all. Descriptive as well as applied approaches are used in this paper. Clearing of ambiguity on this issue may result in twofold benefits: from the public point of view, it would satisfy practising Muslims which may result in form of huge deposits in this account (ii) from IBs viewpoint the Current Account is a bonus deposit

Salicylic acid restricts mercury translocation by activating strong antioxidant defense mechanisms in sweet pepper (Capsicum annum L.)

Mercury (Hg) availability in soil and its absorption in plants is seriously concerned for plant production and human health. Salicylic acid (SA) is one of the major plant hormones involved in plant growth and development under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. So, the experiment was designed to assess the effect of SA on sweet pepper (Capsicum annum L.) seedlings grown under different Hg toxicity concentrations. Spraying of 100 μM SA at three different Hg levels, i.e., 0 μM, 50 μM, 100 μM, and 150 μM. The maximum decrease in photosynthetic machinery, plant growth attributes (shoot length, root length, no. of leaves, fresh and dry biomass (shoot and root)), and more accumulation of Hg in leaves, roots, and fruits of sweet pepper. Additionally, SA significantly reduced the reduction in photosynthetic attributes and plant growth, and increased antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, and CAT) under Hg toxicity. H2O2 was found to be lower in plants treated with SA under Hg toxicity than in non-treated plants. The SA application also restricts the accumulation of Hg in sweet pepper roots, leaves, and fruits. Hg translocation in leaves and fruits was also reduced under SA. These findings provide a novel perspective on Hg accumulation in sweet pepper. They open a door to identify SA signaling pathways to clarify the mechanisms of SA inhibiting Hg accumulation in leaves and fruits.This report was made possible by the MME award [ MME01-0826-190018 ] from the Qatar National Research Fund , a member of The Qatar Foundation. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. Mr. Gerardo Moreno, native English speaker reviewed the article for language basis

Development of Environment-Friendly Concrete through Partial Addition of Waste Glass Powder (WGP) as Cement Replacement

This paper presents the study carried out on the utilization of Waste Glass Powder (WGP) as supplementary cementitious material in concrete. The evaluation of the influence of WGP on the mechanical properties of concrete was carried out by casting and testing of concrete samples as per ASTM standards (cylinders and beam elements). The control samples were designed to represent field conditions with a target compressive strength of 20,000 kPa. The Portland cement in concrete was substituted with WGP in proportions of 0%-35% by weight, in increments of 5%. Two curing domains were adopted in the preparation of the test samples to evaluate the effect of pozzolanic material wherein the tested samples were cured for 28, 56, and 84 days. The study results indicated a reduction in compressive strength of concrete up to 10% with partial replacement of cement with 25% of WGP when standard curing of 28 days was adopted. Furthermore, with the same replacement proportion and prolonged curing for 84 days, the gap in strength reduction was reduced by 5%. However, a significant decrease in workability was noted between the control concrete samples and glass powder infused concrete. Furthermore, the Waste Glass Powder Concrete (WGPC) exhibited an improved flexural strength with the modulus of rupture for WGPC being 2% higher than control concrete at the age of 84 days. Based on the results of this study it was concluded that 25% replacement of cement with WGP provides an optimum replacement ratio. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091620 Full Text: PD

Measuring the patient safety culture at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan using the hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC)

Background: Patient safety is a top priority for many healthcare organisations worldwide. However, most of the initiatives aimed at the measurement and improvement of patient safety culture have been undertaken in developed countries. The purpose of this study was to measure the patient safety culture at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC).Methods: The HSOPSC was used to measure the patient safety culture across 12 dimensions at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. 2,959 individuals, who had been working at the hospital, were administered the HSOPSC in paper form between June and September 2019.Results: The response rate of the survey was 50%. In the past 12 months, 979 respondents (33.1%) had submitted at least one event report. Results showed that the personnel viewed the patient safety culture at their hospital favourably. Overall, respondents scored highest in the following dimensions: \u27feedback and communication on error\u27 (91%), \u27organisational learning and continuous improvement\u27 (85%), \u27teamwork within units\u27 (83%), \u27teamwork across units\u27 (76%). The dimensions with the lowest positive per cent scores included \u27staffing\u27 (40%) and \u27non-punitive response to error\u27 (41%). Only the reliability of the \u27handoffs and transitions\u27, \u27frequency of events reported\u27, \u27organisational learning\u27 and \u27teamwork within units\u27 was higher than Cronbach\u27s alpha of 0.7. Upon regression analysis of positive responses, physicians and nurses were found to have responded less favourably than the remaining professional groups for most dimensions.Conclusion: The measurement of safety culture is both feasible and informative in developing countries and could be broadly implemented to inform patient safety efforts. Current data suggest that it compares favourably with benchmarks from hospitals in the USA. Like the USA, high staff workload is a significant safety concern among staff. This study lays the foundation for further context-specific research on patient safety culture in developing countries

PyCUDA and PyOpenCL: A Scripting-Based Approach to GPU Run-Time Code Generation

High-performance computing has recently seen a surge of interest in heterogeneous systems, with an emphasis on modern Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). These devices offer tremendous potential for performance and efficiency in important large-scale applications of computational science. However, exploiting this potential can be challenging, as one must adapt to the specialized and rapidly evolving computing environment currently exhibited by GPUs. One way of addressing this challenge is to embrace better techniques and develop tools tailored to their needs. This article presents one simple technique, GPU run-time code generation (RTCG), along with PyCUDA and PyOpenCL, two open-source toolkits that support this technique. In introducing PyCUDA and PyOpenCL, this article proposes the combination of a dynamic, high-level scripting language with the massive performance of a GPU as a compelling two-tiered computing platform, potentially offering significant performance and productivity advantages over conventional single-tier, static systems. The concept of RTCG is simple and easily implemented using existing, robust infrastructure. Nonetheless it is powerful enough to support (and encourage) the creation of custom application-specific tools by its users. The premise of the paper is illustrated by a wide range of examples where the technique has been applied with considerable success.Comment: Submitted to Parallel Computing, Elsevie

Alleviation of drought and salt stress in vegetables: crop responses and mitigation strategies

In recent decades, the demand for vegetables has increased significantly due to the blooming global population. Climate change has affected vegetable production by increasing the frequencies and severity of abiotic and biotic stresses. Among the abiotic stresses, drought and salinity are the major issues that possess severe threats on vegetable production. Many vegetables (e.g., carrot, tomato, okra, pea, eggplant, lettuce, potato) are usually sensitive to drought and salt stress. The defence mechanisms of plants against salt and drought stress have been extensively studied in model plant species and field crops. Better understanding of the mechanisms of susceptibility of vegetables to drought and salt stresses will help towards the development of more tolerant genotypes as a long-term strategy against these stresses. However, the intensity of the challenges also warrants more immediate approaches to mitigate these stresses and enhance vegetable production in the short term. Therefore, this review enlightens the updated knowledge of responses (physiological and molecular) against drought and salinity in vegetables and potentially effective strategies to enhance production. Moreover, we summarized different technologies such as seed priming, genetic transformation, biostimulants, nanotechnology, and cultural practices adopted to enhance vegetable production under drought and salinity stress. We propose that approaches of conventional breeding, genetic engineering, and crop management should be combined to generate drought and salt resistance cultivars and adopt smart cultivation practices for sustainable vegetable production in a changing climate.This report was made possible by the NPRP award [MME01-0826-190018] from the Qatar National Research Fund, a member of The Qatar Foundation. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors

Phytophthora-citrus interactions and management strategies: a review

Citrus production is declining worldwide due to several biotic and abiotic factors. The diseases caused by Phytophthora spp. present major economic risks since they are soil-borne and spread quickly if environmental conditions are favorable, or irrigation is poorly managed. Phytophthora species are present in all citrus-producing areas around the world causing significant losses in crop yield and affecting tree health. Bark infection, damping-off, root rot, gummosis, brown rot, and cortical root rot are among the typical symptoms caused by Phytophthora spp. The pathogenicity of Phytophthora spp. depends mainly on the specific interactions between the isolates and citrus cultivars. The use of molecular technologies has allowed the study of Phytophthora-citrus interactions, leading to the identification of several classes of effector proteins secreted by Phytophthora spp. that challenge plant homeostasis and contribute in different ways to disease development and the elucidation of defense mechanisms employed by the host plant. Comprehensive management is need of time to conquer Phytophthora spp. for better root health and citrus productivity