WESTERN POETIC INFLUENCES ON MAJEED AMJAD'S POETRY

Majeed Amjad is a great poet of the 20th century who primarily loved his fellow humans, and who expressed this love through his account of deep affection for nature. His poetic grandeur has long been denied, and his artistic status has not been acknowledged the way he deserved it, yet he continued working his own way. Despite facing serious financial hardships, he utilized his artistic abilities aptly and stamped an unerasable shadow of his artistic self on Urdu Literature that will remain with it till the point time this literature will exist. Majeed Amjad, who had been ignored through the efforts of belittling, receives strong impressions of what is all around him and also he gets influenced by the poets and literary artists of the West. As a result of it, he produced such works of art that were apparently seen as derived from the western art canon. Despite western influence, his work stands alone as of independent stature without any blame for plagiarism or even for flat production of copying foreign content. The present work will investigate the western influence and its imprints upon the poetry of Majeed Amjad, and we will try to understand those nooks and corners of his poetry which are not much known to a systematic critical investigation to date. This research, hence, will open up new pathways for fresh researchers who would invest their critical insight into Amjad’s such poetic interpretations that have remained under surface. Through the present research, we will try to introduce a renewed Majeed Amjad who, despite having been influenced by the western artistic tradition, remained successful in establishing his own independent artistic identity. In our present investigative attempt, we will also explore his artistic independence by looking at whether he succeeded not in establishing his own voice even after absorbing western influence. This research will primarily engage such questions for the consequent debate in the analytical chapters. Hence, after critically looking at western poetic influence on Amjad’s work, this research will introduce the reader to a new Majeed Amjad who had a unique identifying accent that had been unknown till now

Evaluation of quality and patient satisfaction during endoscopic procedure: a cross sectional study from south Asian country

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic procedures and patient satisfaction in endoscopy suite of South Asian country. METHODS: Patients coming to the endoscopic suite of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) were interviewed and assessed in this cross-sectional study. Quality of GI endoscopic procedures was evaluated using assessment tools as suggested by The American Society of Gastroenterology. Patient satisfaction after the procedure was assessed using a modified GHAA-9 questionnaire. The questionnaire was statistically evaluated using Pareto analysis and Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS: In this study, 323 patients were evaluated with a mean age of 43 +/- 14.36 years. Out of all the procedures 251 (77.7%) were gastroscopies while 72 (22.3%) were colonoscopies. Patients undergoing different therapeautic procedures were 121 in number (37.46%). Pre-procedure education was rated as excellent or very good by 91.3% of the patients. Midazolam was used for sedation with an average dose of 3 mg. Technically successful procedures included 99.2% gastroscopies and 98.6% colonoscopies. Mean score of patients regarding satisfaction on mGHAA-9 questionnaire was 30 +/- 3.965. Patient dissatisfaction calculated in our study was 3.6% with the length of time spent waiting before procedure and length of time waiting to get an appointment for the procedure contributing to 90% of dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of endoscopic procedures at our centre is at par with international standards with acceptable complication rate and good patient satisfaction

A Result and Discussion of the Dynamic Assessment Approach in Language Teaching: A Literature Review Study

Dynamic assessment is conceptually based on the sociocultural theory of Lev Vygotsky in the Zone Proximal Development. This paper aimed to discuss dynamic assessment in assessing students` reading comprehension. The limitation of this article will only discuss the definition of dynamic assessment, the historical framework of dynamic assessment, teacher roles in dynamic assessment, dynamic assessment in a foreign language, dynamic assessment of writing, dynamic assessment of reading comprehension, and the advantages and disadvantages of dynamic assessment. Based on literature studies, the dynamic assessment approach is effective in English teaching. It can conclude that this approach can be adopted and developed by English teachers to encourage students` motivation and participation in learning English.           &nbsp

Anticonvulsant, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of Berberis calliobotrys Aitch ex Koehne (Berberidaceae)

Purpose: To evaluate the anticonvulsant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of Berberis calliobotrys.Methods: The powdered plant material (10 kg) was extracted thrice with methanol (3 × 12 L) by dipping for seven days. The methanol extract was concentrated to dryness under reduced pressure, and then successively fractionated with solvents of different polarity, including n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. The anticonvulsant effect of the extract and fractions (at oral doses 500 and 1000 mg/kg) was studied against picrotoxin-, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)- and strychnine-induced seizures in Swiss albino mice of either sex divided into 12 groups (n = 6). Diazepam was used as standard drug. Antimicrobial activity of the extract against Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus as well as against Candida albicans, Penicillium notatum was conducted by disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Cytotoxicity of the extract/fractions was analyzed by  haemolytic method while the phenolic compounds present in the ethyl acetate fraction of the plant were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: The extract and its ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed maximum response against drug-induced convulsions and provided 100 % protection to animals at both doses. They also showed zones of inhibition of 27.00 ± 2.51, and 22.00 ± 2.51 mm against all bacterial and fungal strains, respectively, especially Staphylococcus aureus. The methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction also showed high MIC against all bacterial and fungal strains. Cytotoxicity data from hemolytic assay indicate that the extract/fractions are safe. The highest amount of phenolic found was chlorogenic acid (84.44 ± 0.06 ppm).Conclusion: The plant is thus a potential source of new lead compounds for the development of new clinically effective anticonvulsant and antimicrobial compounds.Keywords: Berberis calliobotrys, Anticonvulsant, Antimicrobial, Haemolytic, Phenolics, Chlorogenic aci

The impact of corporate social responsibility activities on stakeholders' value co‐creation behaviour

AbstractThis paper analyses the relationships between corporate social responsible employees, corporate social responsible suppliers and customer value co‐creation behaviour in banking industry. More in detail it aims to investigate the mediating effect of relationship marketing orientation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and customer value co‐creation behaviour. Data collected from 383 banking customers are analysed through smart partial least square (PLS). The results highlight that corporate social responsible employees and suppliers have a positive impact on customer value co‐creation behaviour. Moreover, relationship marketing orientation has a mediating role between CSR activities and customer value co‐creation behaviour

Measurement of consumer awareness of food waste : construct development with a confirmatory factor analysis

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of hunger, environmental, economic, landfill and water shortage concerns as significant dimensions of consumer social awareness marketing in socially responsible plate food consumption. Design/methodology/approach To carry out their purpose, the authors validate the hypothesized model empirically through data from 1,536 households using structural equation modeling (SEM). In particular, the construct measures of the structural model have been tested by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Findings The outcome the authors came up with is coherent with the hypothesized model, and it proves a positive relationship of the five dimensions identified on consumer awareness. Moreover, the study results show the crucial role of landfill and water shortage concerns in measuring consumer awareness. Practical implications These findings may be of interest to practitioners, academics and policymakers for socially responsible food consumption guidance and training for planning consumer awareness programs. More in detail, this study offers the indication that the dimensions of the social consumer awareness construct are differing from commercial consumer awareness. Originality/value Even though several previous studies have addressed the concept of consumer awareness concerning product and service purchase decisions, this is one of the first research studies on consumer awareness as a multidimensional construct in social marketing studies domain.Peer reviewe

Synthesis, spectral analysis and pharmacological study of N'- substituted-2-(5-((2,4-dimethylphenoxy)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylthio)acetohydrazides

A series of molecules bearing multiple functional groups were synthesized to study their antibiotic effect against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and lipoxygenase activity as well. 2,4-Dimethylcarbolic acid (1) was refluxed with ethyl 2-bromoacetate to synthesize ethyl 2-(2,4-dimethylphenoxy)acetate (2). Compound 2 was converted to the corresponding hydrazide 3, again on refluxing with hydrazine. The compound 5-((2,4-dimethylphenoxy)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-thiol (4) was synthesized by the reaction of 3 and CS2 in the presence of KOH. Compound 4 was further converted to the corresponding ester 5 and then 2-(5-((2,4-dimethylphenoxy)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylthio)acetohydrazide (6). The final molecules N'-substituted-2-(5-((2,4-dimethylphenoxy)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylthio)acetohydrazide, 8a-m, bearing ether, 1,3,4-oxadiazole, thioether, hydrazone and azomethine functional groups were synthesized by stirring the aryl carboxaldehydes 7a-m with 6 in methanol at room temperature. The depicted structures of all synthesized molecules were corroborated by IR, 1H-NMR and EIMS spectral data analysis. 8m and 8i showed substantial antibacterial activity and lipoxygenase inhibitory activity, respectively

Innovative Strategies for the Control of Biofilm Formation in Clinical Settings

Biofilm formation in clinical settings is an increasingly important issue particularly due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, as it resulted in increased mortality, which poses a considerable financial burden on healthcare systems. The bacterial biofilms are quite resistant to the routine antimicrobial-based therapies; therefore, the novel strategies are desired in addition to the conventional antibiotics for the effective control of infections caused by biofilm-forming microbes. So far, the approaches being proposed to control the biofilm formation in clinical practice settings include the use of biofilm inhibitors and the use of modified biomaterials for the development of medical devices to thwart the formation of biofilms. In this chapter, we have focused on the latest developments in the anti-biofilm strategies through the interruption of the quorum-sensing system, which is crucial for biofilm formation and have summarized the various classes of antibacterial compounds for the control of biofilm formation. This agrees with the recent approaches suggested by the National Institute of Health (NIH) that advocates the use of combinational therapies based on the conventional methods and complementary treatment to explore the potential utility and safety concerns of the natural products. The studies regarding these emerging strategies could possibly lead to the establishment of better therapeutic alternates compared to conventional treatments

Relationship between vitamin B12, folate and homocysteine levels and H. Pylori infection in patients with functional dyspepsia: a cross-section study

Background H. pylori infection has been associated with many micronutrient deficiencies. There is a dearth of data from communities with nutritional deficiencies and high prevalence of H. pylori infection. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of H. pylori infection on serum levels of vitamin B12, folate and homocysteine in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods One hundred and thirty-two patients with FD undergoing gastroscopy were enrolled. The serum was analyzed for B12, folate and homocysteine levels before gastroscopy. H. pylori infection was diagnosed by histopathological examination of gastric biopsies and urea breath test. An independent sample t-test and the Mann–Whitney test were used to compare mean serum concentrations of biomarkers between H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative groups of patients. A Chi-square test was performed to assess the differences among proportions, while Spearman’s rho was used for correlation analysis between levels of B12 and homocysteine. Results The mean age of the group was 40.3 ± 11.5 (19–72) years. Folate deficiency was seen in 43 (34.6%), B12 deficiency in 30 (23.1%) and hyperhomocysteinemia in 60 (46.2%) patients. H. pylori was present in 80 (61.5%) patients with FD while it was absent in 50 (38.5%). Mean serum levels of B12, folate and homocysteine in the H. pylori-positive group of patients were not significantly different from the levels in the H. pylori-negative group (357 ± 170 vs. 313 ± 136 pg/mL; p = 0.13), (4.35 ± 1.89 vs. 4.42 ± 1.93 ng/mL; p = 0.84); (15.88 ± 8.97 vs. 16.62 ± 7.82 μmol/L; p = 0.24); respectively. B12 deficiency (≤200 pg/mL) was 23.8% in the H. pylori-positive patients versus 22.0% in the H. pylori-negative patients. Folate deficiency (≤3.5 ng/mL) was 33.8% in the H. pylori-positive group versus 36% in the H. pylori-negative group. Hyperhomocysteinemia (\u3e15 μmol/L) was present in 46.2% of H. pylori-positive patients compared to 44% in the H. pylori-negative group. Correlation analysis indicated that serum B12 levels were inversely associated with serum levels of homocysteine in patients with FD (rho = −0.192; p = 0.028). Conclusions This study demonstrated an inverse relationship between serum levels of B12 and homocysteine in patients with FD. Moreover, no impact of the presence of H. pylori was found on B12, folate and homocysteine levels in such patients