Analysis of the Interaction between Dividend Policy and Firm Performance in Manufacturing Sector

The purpose of this study is to investigate internal determinant factors of dividend policy in manufacturing firms. The study considers the impact of dividend payout ratio, signalling, earnings per share and risk on firm performance. This research also tries to create a link between dividend policy and firm performance. In the same way, the research is also aimed to create a link between these factors. Such as, the current link between the dividend policy and firm performance. It will elaborate this through current and previous studies as a whole. This study used primary data from the listed manufacturing firms in order to check the effects of dividend policy on firm performance. Data was collected from the primary source. The survey questionnaire was used to collect data from top management in order to highlight the impact of dividend policy on firm performance. Multi-regression analyses were undertaken to identify attributes that influence dividend policy. The results of the study demonstrate that all the variables are significant thus they have a positive impact on firm performance. The study established the findings that dividend payout, earning per share, signalling and risk positively and significantly influence the firm’s value. Moreover, companies should consider dividend policy in order to make the financial decision more efficiently. This study tells us that decisions about dividend policy should be made by considering other variables. The study has both practical and theoretical implication for top management in order to consider the dividend policy and its impact on firm performance

The relationship between serum hepcidin level and hypoxemia in the COPD patients

AbstractHepcidin has a regulatory role in inflammation, the immune system, and iron metabolism. It has been shown that proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 6 (IL-6) is an important inducer of hepcidin synthesis during infection and inflammation.Aim of the workTo study the relationship between serum hepcidin level and hypoxemia in the COPD patients and its relation to COPD severity.Patients and methodsA prospective case control study to compare serum hepcidin levels and other parameters in 70 COPD patients treated at the Pulmonology Department, King Fahad Hospital Dammam, with 34 age and sex matched healthy controls. All subjects participating in the study underwent a complete physical examination and detailed pulmonary function tests (PFTs). A sample from the radial artery for arterial blood gas analysis was done. As well as a panel of other tests including hemoglobin, hematocrit (hct), Iron, CRP, ferritin and total iron binding capacity. A hepcidin prohormone enzyme immunoassay kit (RE 54051, IBL) was used for serum hepcidin measurement.ResultsCOPD patients had significantly lower serum hepcidin level compared to the control group (204.60±53.12 and 280.81±50.61, respectively). Furthermore there was a significantly greater reduction in serum hepcidin level in patients with severe COPD compared to patients with mild COPD. A positive correlation was found between serum hepcidin levels and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2, %) and FEV1 level (P=0.005). There was a negative correlation between serum hepcidin level and the ages of patients and packs of cigarettes consumed per year (P=0.003).ConclusionOur study demonstrated a significant reduction in serum hepcidin levels in COPD patients, and the degree of reduction correlated with the severity of COPD and hypoxemia

A comparative performance evaluation framework for power based wind turbine fault detection methods

International audienc

Perioperative registries in resource-limited settings: The way forward for Pakistan

Capable of improving surgical quality, perioperative registries can allow performance benchmarking, reliable reporting and the development of risk-prediction models. Well established in high-income countries, perioperative registries remain limited in lower- and middle-income countries due to several challenges. First, ensuring comprehensive data entry forums to power the registries is difficult because of limited electronic medical records requiring sustained efforts to develop and integrate these into practice. Second, lack of adequate expertise and resources to develop and maintain registry software necessitates the involvement of software developers and information technology personnel. Third, case ascertainment and item completion are challenging secondary to poor-quality medical records and high loss-to-follow-up rates, requiring telemedicine initiatives as an adjunct to existing care for the assessment of post-discharge outcomes. Lastly, standardised coding of clinical terminology is warranted for ensuring interoperability of the registries for which adaptation of the existing disease and procedural codes can be a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to the development of new codes

Diagnostic potential of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in pediatric acute appendicitis: A multi-centric study

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of NLR in pediatric appendicitis. Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study was undertaken in the pediatric emergency department of our hospital from January 2019 to December 2022. We enrolled patients aged between 5 and 18 years presenting with suspicions of acute appendicitis. Based on their final diagnoses, these patients were divided into two primary groups: Negative appendectomy (Group 1) and positive appendectomy (Group 2). Results: In a comparative study of 290 pediatric patients divided into Group 1 (n=40) and Group 2 (n=250), we explored differences in demographics, presenting symptoms, and blood test results. Both groups had a similar age range (2-18 years) and gender distribution (p>0.05 for both age and gender). Abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting were prevalent symptoms in both groups; however, statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in their presentation (p>0.05 for all symptoms). The duration of symptoms and past medical histories were also comparable between the groups (p>0.05). Blood test results indicated that Group 2 had significantly higher WBC (p=0.005) and neutrophil counts (p=0.003), while other parameters like CRP, platelet count, and lymphocyte count showed no significant differences (p>0.05 for all). The NLR was identified as a significant discriminator, with Group 2 having a higher value (p=0.002). Using an optimal NLR cut-off of 4.1, we achieved a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 52% for predicting the diagnosis. The diagnostic utility of NLR was further affirmed by an AUC value of 0.642 in the ROC curve analysis. Conclusions: This study underscores the potential diagnostic value of the NLR in pediatric acute appendicitis. With its cost-effectiveness and easy availability as part of routine blood tests, the NLR could be an invaluable tool in assisting clinical decisions in pediatric acute appendicitis

2-Amino-1,3-benzothia­zol-3-ium dihydrogen phosphate

The cation of the title compound, C7H7N2S+·H2PO4 −, is almost planar (r.m.s deviation = 0.017 Å for all non-H atoms). In the crystal structure, the cations and anions are connected by N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, with π–π stacking inter­actions between neighbouring 1,3-thia­zole and benzene rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.5711 (11) Å], forming a three-dimensional network

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: Multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P \u3c 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (β coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Comparative study of the chemical composition and anti-proliferative activities of the aerial parts and roots of Apium graveolens L. (celery) and their biogenic nanoparticles

Apiaceae plants are multipurpose folk remedies and bioactive foods that show a remarkable ability to biosynthesize a large number of secondary metabolites with antitumor and chemopreventive potential. Among the various members of the Apiaceae, celery (Apium graveolens L.) has long been used as a popular edible and medicinal plant owing to its plentiful health benefits and nutraceutical properties; however, the anticancer potential of this important species has been seldom studied, mostly focusing on its seeds. Therefore, this work was designed to delve into the chemical composition and anti-proliferative potential of the total ethanolic extracts of the aerial parts (TEEAGA) and roots (TEEAGR) of A. graveolens var. dulce (Mill.) Pers. as well as their green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). In general, both TEEAGA and TEEAGR exhibited moderate to potent inhibitory activities against human liver (HepG-2), colon (Caco-2), and breast (MCF-7) cancer cell lines, with interesting IC50 profiles [(41.37 ± 0.12, 27.65 ± 0.27, and 9.48 ± 0.04 μg/mL) and (11.58 ± 0.02, 7.13 ± 0.03, and 6.58 ± 0.02 μg/mL), respectively] as compared with doxorubicin, while more pronounced anti-proliferative effects were observed for their biogenic AgNPs, which showed IC50 values ranging between 25.41 ± 0.16 and 1.37 ± 0.03 μg/mL. Moreover, HPLC‒HESI‒HRMS-based metabolomics analysis of both extracts showed the presence of a varied group of secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, phthalides, coumarins, and sesquiterpenes that further displayed moderate to promising binding affinities to the active site of cyclin G-associated kinase (GAK), particularly graveobioside A, graveobioside B, and celeroside C, suggesting their possible contribution as GAK modulators to the anti-proliferative potential of celery. These findings can help broaden future research on the utilization of different parts of celery and their NPs as functional foods and medicines in cancer chemoprevention and therapy

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2020

The European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2020 is the update of similar evidence based position papers published in 2005 and 2007 and 2012. The core objective of the EPOS2020 guideline is to provide revised, up-to-date and clear evidence-based recommendations and integrated care pathways in ARS and CRS. EPOS2020 provides an update on the literature published and studies undertaken in the eight years since the EPOS2012 position paper was published and addresses areas not extensively covered in EPOS2012 such as paediatric CRS and sinus surgery. EPOS2020 also involves new stakeholders, including pharmacists and patients, and addresses new target users who have become more involved in the management and treatment of rhinosinusitis since the publication of the last EPOS document, including pharmacists, nurses, specialised care givers and indeed patients themselves, who employ increasing self-management of their condition using over the counter treatments. The document provides suggestions for future research in this area and offers updated guidance for definitions and outcome measurements in research in different settings. EPOS2020 contains chapters on definitions and classification where we have defined a large number of terms and indicated preferred terms. A new classification of CRS into primary and secondary CRS and further division into localized and diffuse disease, based on anatomic distribution is proposed. There are extensive chapters on epidemiology and predisposing factors, inflammatory mechanisms, (differential) diagnosis of facial pain, allergic rhinitis, genetics, cystic fibrosis, aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease, immunodeficiencies, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis and the relationship between upper and lower airways. The chapters on paediatric acute and chronic rhinosinusitis are totally rewritten. All available evidence for the management of acute rhinosinusitis and chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps in adults and children is systematically reviewed and integrated care pathways based on the evidence are proposed. Despite considerable increases in the amount of quality publications in recent years, a large number of practical clinical questions remain. It was agreed that the best way to address these was to conduct a Delphi exercise. The results have been integrated into the respective sections. Last but not least, advice for patients and pharmacists and a new list of research needs are included.Peer reviewe