The influence of performance training and development on organizational performance: A case study of private banks in Kurdistan

Even everyday banks are promoting various employees training and development programs for their staffs, but still there is no certain or effective instrument to confirm how they influence to banks' performance. Therefore, this research planned to determine the relationship between training and development with banks performance and its comparison between training and development. The researcher distributed 250 questionnaires, but only 209 questionnaires were received from employees and been completed. The researcher used a quantitative research method to investigate the most of significance factor that affects banks performance, through measuring and comparing employee training and employee development at banks. The findings of multiple regression analysis revealed that the effect of employee training on banks performance is stronger than the effect of employee development on banks performance in Erbil

Midwifery in Gilgit Baltistan by Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan

Midwives are practicing in diverse capacities in public and private health settings of Pakistan, including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan (AKHS, P), which is a leading non-profit, non-governmental and non-denominational community-based organization that provides quality maternal and child health services all over Pakistan. Maternal and child health centers led by registered Midwives and Lady Health visitors (LHV), were specifically established in Gilgit Baltistan in 1974 by this NGO as a strategy to combat the alarming rates of maternal and child mortalities

Assessment of salinity tolerance and SSR profile differentiation in nine maize genotypes (Zea mays L)

The low productivity of maize in Iraq is resulting from many factors that relate to insufficient knowledge of the genetic sources of germplasm used for crop improvement. A major goal of this project was to find the phenotypic, and genotypic variations by using salinity stress and Simple sequence repeat markers among nine maize geno- types. Genetic variation for salt tolerance was assessed in nine maize genotypes using four salinity levels (control, 50, 100, and 150 mM NaCl). Seedling of each genotype was compared to their growth under control and saline conditions. Salt stress (sodium chloride) markedly reduced the germination percentage, shoot and root lengths and fresh and dry masses. However, Dhqan, Fajr 265, Talar were considered as tolerant genotypes while Medium 791 defined as sensitive genotype. Genotypic analysis was carried out using 18 SSR primers. A total of 46 polymorphic alleles were perceived among the maize genotypes with a range of 1–7 polymorphic bands were detected with size ranging from (90 to 500 bp) along the different maize genotypes. Polymorphism information content, marker index and gene diversity ranged from 0.178 to 0.788, 8.900 to 68.800, and 0.198 to 0.815, respectively. Dendrograms were constructed based on total microsatellite polymorphism, and nine genotypes were grouped into three major clusters. The analysis of molecular variance results revealed 17 and 83% of the total variation between and within populations (local and Iranian). The results confirmed the efficiency of SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat) markers in the detection of genetic variation among maize genotypes

En empirisk studie av kumulative insidensfunksjoner estimert ved Cox regresjon og Fine-Gray metoden

I denne oppgaven studerer og sammenligner vi to modeller for konkurrerende dødsårsaker; Cox proporsjonale modell for de årsaksspesifikke hasardratene (Cox 1972) og proporsjonal subfordelingsmodell(Fine & Gray 1999). For begge beregner vi kumulative insidensfunksjoner, og ser hvordan de påvirkes av kovariatene. Cox-modellen er den mest anvendte regresjonsmodellen innen levetidsanalyse. I denne modellen har kovariatene en log-lineær effekt på de årsaksspesifikke hasardratene. I en Cox-modell for konkurrerende dødsårsaker påvirker ikke nødvendigvis en kovariat den årsaksspesifikke hasardraten og den tilhørende kumulative insidensfunksjonen i samme retning. Dette skyldes at den kumulative insidensfunksjonen for en bestemt årsak ikke bare avhenger av hasardraten for den årsaken, men også av de konkurrerende dødsårsakene. I beregning av dødssannsynligheten for en bestemt årsak med subfordelingsmodellen, består den kumulative insidensfunksjonen av subfordelingshasardraten for kun den årsaken. Dermed vil en kovariat påvirke hasarden og insidensfunksjonen i samme retning. Målet med oppgaven er å sammenligne de to metodene for å studere kumulative insidensfunksjoner for situasjoner som kan forekomme i praksis. Vi tar utgangspunkt i et virkelig datasett om dødelighet og dødsårsaker i den norske befolkningen. Datasettet er et utvalg på 4000 personer hentet fra fylkesundersøkelsene. I tillegg simulerer vi data av lignende type som data fra fylkesundersøkelsene

Influence of phytohormones on seed germination of Solanum linnaeanum

The aim of this study was to determine the germination ability and seedling growth of the apple of Sodom by soaking in water, gibberellin (GA3), naphthylacetic acid (NAA), and salicylic acid (SA), separately. The findings showed that NAA at 50 mgL-1 produced superior germination (77.78%), germination speed (1.43 seeds/time interval), hypocotyl length (1.01 cm), hypocotyl diameter (1.13 mm), leaf number (2.66), and root number (17.25), followed by 50 and 100 mgL-1 GA3, particularly in germination percentage. The best root length (5.33 cm) was detected at 100 mgL-1 SA. In contrast, control seeds and water-soaked seeds showed inferior results. The seeds of the apple of Sodom can be germinated successfully as a result of treatment with NAA at 50 mgL-1, followed by GA3 at 50 and 100 mgL-1

Monitoring of circulating tumour-associated DNA as a prognostic tool for oral squamous cell carcinoma

Frequent allelic imbalances (AIs) including loss of heterozygosity and microsatellite instability on a specific chromosomal region have been identified in a variety of human malignancies. The objective of our study was to assess the possibility of prognostication and monitoring of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) by microsatellite blood assay. DNA from normal and tumorous tissues and serum DNA obtained at three time points (preoperatively, postoperatively, and 4 weeks postoperatively) from 64 patients with oral SCC was examined at nine microsatellite loci. In all, 38 (59%) DNA samples from tumorous tissues and 52% from serum showed AIs in at least one locus. Patterns of AIs in the serum DNA were matched to those detected in tumour DNA. Of them, AIs were frequently detected preoperatively (44%, 28 of 64), and postoperatively (20%, 13 of 64). Moreover, among 12 cases with AIs during the postoperative period, six had no evidence of an AI 4 weeks postoperatively, and they had no recurrence and were disease free. In contrast, six patients with AI-positive DNA 4 weeks postoperatively have died with distant metastasis within 44 weeks. Thus, our results suggest that the assessment of microsatellite status in the serum DNA could be a useful predictive tool to monitor disease prognosis

Exploring chemical composition and genetic dissimilarities between maize accessions

The capacity of maize (Zea mays L.) accessions to tolerate drastically extreme conditions in Iraq, contributes to thecharacterization of the genetic resources for germplasm management and the identification of the finest genotypesfor genetic improvement. Therefore, breeding maize program requires knowledge of genetic variation andgenetic structure. A total of 25 maize accessions from three regions (Iraq-Sulaimani, Iraq-Erbil and Iran-Sanandaj)were genotyped by chemical and phytochemical components and simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers to evaluategenetic diversity, population composition and the relationships between genetic and chemical compositiondissimilarities. In terms of proximate and phytochemical parameters, the maize accessions exhibited large significantdisparity, in which oil, phenol contents and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) characteristic appeared tobe the most discriminating features of maize accessions. Altogether, 18 SSR markers produced 77 polymorphicalleles across the 25 samples, and the chosen SSR was extremely informative with polymorphic information content(PIC) varied from 0.91 (Bnlg1890) to 0.37 (Umc1630 and Bnlg1189), as well as gene diversity (ranging from0.48 to 0.91, with an average of 0.75) illustrating the broad genetic variability of the accessions investigated.Molecular variance assessment (AMOVA) showed that there was only 21% genetic variation among populations.Pairwise PhiPT distance (0.10 to 0.31) stated high population distinctions among the populations investigated. Inaddition, the accessions from three regions were differentiated into seven clusters by both methods; clusteringand population structure analysis and the accessions are not grouped in term of geographic locations. Both chemicalcomposition and SSR markers differentiated 25 maize accessions. The results of the Mantel test exhibited asignificant positive linkage between chemical components and SSR matrices. The results of this research revealedthat maize accessions have a broad genetic diversity that provides a source of new and unique alleles that arehelpful for maize breeding programs to address the continuing and future significant challenges and determiningcollections of well-known cultivars and disparities between them

Intraosseous Rosai-Dorfman disease diagnosed by touch imprint cytology evaluation: A case series

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy, also known as Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare benign disorder that primarily affects the lymph nodes. Localized lymphadenopathy is the most common clinical manifestation of this disorder. However, RDD has been described in several extra-nodal sites including the head and neck region, soft tissue, skin, upper respiratory tract, gastro-intestinal tract and central nervous system (CNS). Involvement of the bone is considered very rare, occurring in less than 10% patients. RDD is one of the histiocytoses and the differential diagnosis includes entities such as Langerhans cell histiocytosis and Erdheim-Chester disease. In the rare intraosseous variant, the clinical and radiologic differential diagnosis is broader and includes neoplasms such as osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. In this report, we describe three cases of extra-nodal, intraosseous RDD where touch imprint cytology played a crucial role in diagnosis. Two of the cases initially presented with involvement of the head and neck region and later developed intraosseous disease; while the third patient presented with primary bone involvement. The diagnosis was established by core biopsy with touch imprints of the bone lesions. The cytologic samples showed numerous histiocytes, often with neutrophils within their cytoplasm (emperipolesis) in addition to lymphocytes and plasma cells. The diagnosis of RDD was confirmed with appropriate immunohistochemical stains. Our account of these three cases of intraosseous Rosai-Dorfman disease highlights the role of cytology in the diagnosis of this rare entity