Economic Growth-Women Labour Force Participation Nexus: An Empirical Evidence for Pakistan

The immense focus of the study is to investigate the impact of economic growth on women labour force participation nexus. Women labour force participation (WLFP), (Real) GDP per capita (RPCY) are chosen as variables for this selected study. Material and data have been taken from 1980 to 2011. The result of this study depicts that long run and U-shaped association between economic development and women labour force participation in case of Pakistan. Our study shows that an increase in education and dynamics of economic activity increases the Women Labour Force Participation in later stage of growth. Keywords: Economic Growth, (Real) GDP per Capita, Women Labour Force

Factors of Permanent Income and effects over Consumption in Pakistan (1973-2013)

This  Study  significantly  observes  long run as well as  the short run effect  of  the  permanent income (PI) on consumption (C) the same as initiated by the Milton Friedman employing ARDL to Cointegration bound testing approach and Error Correction Model (ECM). The reason of the current study is to discover the degree to which wealth indicators connecting to PI may have an effect on consumption with respect to Pakistan like GNE (Gross National Expenditure), GNS (Gross National Savings), GVA (Gross Value Added), NR (Natural Resources) and TR (Total Reserves) span from 1973 to 2013. Above tests show long run association exists among the selected variables. According to ECM correction process is slow and short-run disequilibrium not at all adjusts completely in the current period. Keywords: Consumption, Consumption function, Permanent Income

An Analysis of Mobile Banking Acceptance by Pakistani Customers

This study explores the factors affecting and manipulating the mobile banking acceptance by Pakistani customers. The expansion of technology has generated new opportunities  in the world as the expansion of mobile technology has merged the financial and telecom service providers to pioneer new innovations for financial institutions in order to provide branchless banking through mobile banking. This research acquires a TAM (Technology Acceptance Model). Outcomes of this study sustains extensive TAM in forecasting bank customer’s behavioural intent to use mobile banking. The data was collected from the MCB bank account holders in Pakistan which includes 200 survey responses, analyze through statistical techniques: regression analysis. The result of data analysis demonstrated the context of the following variables such as speed, self-efficacy (SE), Mobilty Access(MA) , Advertising(AT) and quality of service , user perception relates to the convenience of mobile banking that affect the tendency to use and adoption. Keywords: Mobile Banking, Innovation, TAM

The functional outcome of direct lateral approach for fixation of proximal humeral fractures: A case series from a tertiary care hospital

Displaced proximal humeral fractures warrant surgical fixation for early rehabilitation and better functional outcome. These fractures are traditionally fixed by delto pectoral surgical approach. Direct lateral approach has recently gained interest as it involves less soft tissue dissection and is particularly helpful in certain fracture patterns. However, there have been concerns of axillary nerve damage with this approach. We report a case series of proximal humerus fractures fixed by direct lateral approach from our institution. All displaced Type 2 and 3 fractures were included in our study. Pathological and comminuted Type 4 fractures and fractures with ipsilateral clavicle or elbow fractures were excluded. Oxford Shoulder Score was done at regular intervals for assessment of functional outcome. We did not observe any axillary nerve damage in our case series and the outcomes of 70.5% of our patients were excellent while in 29.5% it was good. We recommend direct lateral approach for specific pattern of proximal humerus fractures

Interference mitigation in D2D communication underlaying LTE-A network

The mobile data traffic has risen exponentially in recent days due to the emergence of data intensive applications, such as online gaming and video sharing. It is driving the telecommunication industry as well as the research community to come up with new paradigms that will support such high data rate requirements within the existing wireless access network, in an efficient and effective manner. To respond to this challenge, device-to-device (D2D) communication in cellular networks is viewed as a promising solution, which is expected to operate, either within the coverage area of the existing eNB and under the same cellular spectrum (in-band) or separate spectrum (out-band). D2D provides the opportunity for users located in close proximity of each other to communicate directly, without traversing data traffic through the eNB. It results in several transmission gains, such as improved throughput, energy gain, hop gain, and reuse gain. However, integration of D2D communication in cellular systems at the same time introduces new technical challenges that need to be addressed. Containment of the interference among D2D nodes and cellular users is one of the major problems. D2D transmission radiates in all directions, generating undesirable interference to primary cellular users and other D2D users sharing the same radio resources resulting in severe performance degradation. Efficient interference mitigation schemes are a principal requirement in order to optimize the system performance. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the existing interference mitigation schemes present in the open literature. Based on the subjective and objective analysis of the work available to date, it is also envisaged that adopting a multi-antenna beamforming mechanism with power control, such that the transmit power is maximized toward the direction of the intended D2D receiver node and limited in all other directions will minimize the interference in the network. This could maximize the sum throughput and hence, guarantees the reliability of both the D2D and cellular connections

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

Prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in renal transplant recipients presenting with acute diarrhea at a single center in Pakistan

Background: Cryptosporidium is an intracellular protozoan organism which causes diarrhea, both in immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. Renal transplant recipients are prone to develop a variety of infections including protozoal infections. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in our renal transplant recipients presenting with acute diarrhea. Patients and Methods: During six months of the study, 644 renal transplant recipients presented with acute diarrhea. Single stool sample was obtained for detailed analysis including gross and microscopic examination for red blood cells, pus cells, ova, cysts, and protozoa. The modified Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining was done to identify the oocysts of cryptosporidia. Results: Out of 644 renal transplant patients, oocysts of cryptosporidia were identified in 343 patients (53%). Detailed stool analysis of these patients showed the presence of numerous pus cells in 27 (7.9%) patients, co-infection with giardia intestinalis cysts in 15 (4.3%), and entamoeba histolytica cysts in 10 (2.9%). In all, out of 343 patients, 43 (12.5%) had dual infection with bacteria and protozoa in addition to cryptosporidiosis. Conclusions: Cryptosporidium is an important pathogen causing acute diarrhea in renal transplant recipients in our set up. Stool examination is usually negative for pus cells. It is recommended that in all transplant recipients presenting with acute diarrhea modified ZN staining should be done to rule out cryptosporidiosis in highly endemic areas like Pakistan

Mechanical behaviour of E-waste aggregate concrete using a novel machine learning algorithm: Multi expression programming (MEP)

Technological advancement encourages the usage of electronic appliances in daily life and makes it possible for users to switch to more advanced devices very easily and at a reasonable cost. As new devices are produced and manufactured at an alarming rate around the world, outdated old devices become e-waste. This research work aims at using a popular machine learning (ML) method known as Multi-expression programming (MEP) to examine the compressive strength (CS) and tensile strength (TS) of E-waste aggregate-based concrete (EWAC). 279 and 105 scientific entries for CS and TS, respectively, were culled from reputable literature. The ten convincing input parameters selected based on multicollinearity analysis (correlation matrix and variance inflation factor) were E-waste coarse aggregate (ECA%), E-waste fine aggregate (EFA%), water-cement ratio (w/c), age of concrete (A in days), fine aggregate water-absorption (WAF%), coarse aggregate water-absorption (WAC%), E-waste aggregate water-absorption (WAE%), E-waste aggregate specific-gravity (SGE), coarse aggregate specific-gravity (SGC), and fine aggregate specific-gravity (SGF). To estimate the functioning of the projected models, root-squared-error (RSE), mean-absolute error (MAE), mean-absolute-percent error (MAPE), Nash-Sutcliffe-efficiency (NSE), root-mean-squared error (RMSE), objective-function (OF), coefficient-of-correlation (R), root-mean-squared-logarithmic error (RMSLE), and performance-index (PI) were used. The R-value for both MEP models exceeds 0.9, showing “excellent” with MAPE values in the testing stage equals to 6.68% and 6.78% for the CS-MEP and TS-MEP models, respectively. While for non-linear regression (NLR) models, the MAPE exceeds 20% and 30%, respectively, making them unsuitable for future prediction. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis carried out to evaluate the MEP equations' consistency with the observed physical phenomena, indicates that for both CS and TS, the w/c, ECA%, and EFA% remain the most sensitive parameters with a sensitivity index greater than 0.60. Due to the accuracy and viability of developed models, they can be used to reduce the time needed for laborious laboratory tests