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This article examines the effect of outbound FDI on labour market volatility and, thereby, on economic insecurity in home countries of FDI distinguishing between greenfield FDI (GFDI) and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Using the data up to 94 countries during the period 2003–2019, we find that outward GFDI stimulate economic insecurity by increasing volatility of employment. Cross-border M&A purchases, however, decrease the labour market volatility measured both in terms of volatility of employment and hours worked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the effect of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) outflows on government size in home countries. We focus on up to 89 developed and developing economies during the period 1996–2018. The results show that cross-border M&A outflows decrease the government size in total sample as well as in sub-samples of developed and developing countries. The results are stable across different econometric specifications and provide support to the efficiency hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines that how knowledge and perception affect Muslim policyholders of Takaful and conventional insurance businesses in developing economy. Questionnaire containing 26 items was used to gather data. The regression analysis was used and results of study reveal that awareness of Takaful holders is higher on Islamic insurance products and Islamic finance products in comparison to convention insurance policyholders. Perception of the conventional holders towards their companies is better than Takaful holders. The conventional insurance policyholders had better see products offered by their companies and companies themselves. Takaful operators will understand public awareness about Takaful and public perception of their insurance and Takaful providers it helps in policy selection for existing and future customers of Takaful and conventional insurance companies. In Pakistan, no study of such kind was conducted in the previous few years using the variables utilized in present study. Results of current investigation have practical implications for Takaful operators and conventional insurance companies operating in developing countries like Pakistan in order to revist the policies in vogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to observe the relationship between managerial efficiency (ME) and corporate leverage policy. We use data from Pakistani listed firms from 1999 to 2018. In our stepwise methodology, initially, we used data envelopment analysis (DEA) to acquire firm total efficiency (FTE) scores and then Tobit regression to acquire residual values. These residual values are used as a proxy of ME. After employing various definitions of leverage and fixed effect regression technique, the study observes that ME has a positive and significant relationship with leverage. It indicates that efficient managers are more inclined towards debt financing. It also implies that restraining managerial discretion through debt financing may also make them efficient. Therefore, finding partially approves the agency perspective in the case of Pakistan. Overall, this study offers theoretical contributions to better understand the role of ME and leverage, and the use of DEA approach. Further, this study is fundamental to observe the ME and leverage concerning agency theory in general, and specifically in the context of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research seeks to analyse Amitav Gosh's novel Sea of Poppies in order to explore the sociolinguistic strategy of code-switching with respect to its various types. The term 'code-switching' denotes the connection of elements from multilingual interaction. This phenomenon has been approached by various sociolinguists, linguists, anthropologists and sociologists. It refers to mixing between various languages to a certain extent that confuses the traditional sociolinguistic conventions. The study also focuses on the close ties between various languages and their strong impact on structure of Standard English as manifested in the selected text. The research is qualitative and descriptive, and the data has been taken from the textual conversations and dialogues of various characters of the novel. It attempts to classify code-switching into its different types exemplified by the selected data. This research attempts to highlight the variety of English language used in the literary milieu of contemporary India. It explores the text through application of Charlotte Hoffmann's theory proposed in her 1991 book An Introduction to Bilingualism. Moreover, content analysis as a research method is used to trace the presence of code-switching in certain words, dialogues and conversations between the characters. It finds out the distinct varieties of English (Pakistani and Indian) as mininarratives against the single Standard English in order to explore that English Indian fiction writers use native words in their work/novels to describe local lifestyles, culture, food, relationships, and religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anxiety is defined as a futureoriented mood state during which one is prepared to attempt to address approaching negative events. Stress in patients planning surgery in important as it can influence their decision to seek or delay medical care. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors causing anxiety in preoperative period in patients undergoing major elective surgery procedures. Materials and Methods: This multi-centered cross-sectional study was carried out Rawalpindi medical university allied hospitals from January 2018 to June 2018. We selected 363 patients of elective hernia repair surgery and thyroid surgery for the study. Structured Performa was used to obtain demographic data and factors contributing to anxiety. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure anxiety and a score of ≥45 was considered as high anxiety. Data was entered and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software, version 22.Two sided Chi square test was used to determine the statistical significance between anxiety and gender Results: 228 (62.8 %) patients had preoperative anxiety score > 45. There was significant correlation (x2=0.005) between female gender and preoperative anxiety. Among the common reasons for preoperative anxiety in respondents were the fear of surgery being postponed 240 (69.9%), Nakedness on operating table 207 (57.7%) Not waking up from surgery 194 (54%), Inability to pay hospital bills 193 (53.8%). Conclusion: Patients in our setting experience significantly high levels of preoperative anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effects of greenfield FDI and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on total factor productivity ( TFP) in developed and developing host countries of FDI. Using panel data for up to 123 countries over the period from 2003 to 2011, we find that greenfield FDI has no statistically significant effect on TFP, while M&As have a positive effect on TFP in the total sample. Greenfield FDI and M&As both appear to be ineffective in increasing TFP in the subsample of developing countries. In contrast, M&As have a strong and positive effect on TFP in the subsample of developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study investigated the psychosocial risk factors of myocardial infarction and time related adverse effects of administration of streptokinase on short-term morbidity and mortality in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: One hundred patients with STEMI treated with streptokinase in the hospital setting were prospectively enrolled in the study. The primary outcome parameter was the incidence of major adverse cardiac events. During hospital stay the psychosocial and demographic risk factors were also investigated. Results: The overall mortality rate was similar in both groups and it was not significant. (5.7% vs 14.5%; P = 0.18). The number of recurrent chest pain was significantly higher in the group 2 compared to the group 1 (25% vs 62.5%; P = .01). The number of hypotesion was significantly higher in the group 1 as compared to the group 2 (30.7% vs 6.2%; P = .009). The demographic and psychosocial risk factors were recorded. Conclusions: The early intravenous administration of streptokinase in the hospital setting leads to a reduced rate of major cardiovascular events compared to delayed administration beyond 2 hours. However, mortality rates were not significantly affected. Secondary prevention should be targeted on modifiable demographic, dietary, and psychosocial risk factors of STEMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mouth ulcers are common oral lesions. In Pakistan oral hygiene conditions are poor, standard facilities are not available, medications are relatively expensive and multi-drug resistance is a threat to public health. Turmeric is one of the nature's most powerful healer. An experimental study was de-signed and conducted in Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lahore to evaluate the role of curcumin on epithelialization and collagenization in inflammation of buccal mucosa of rabbits. Forty adult rabbits were used and divided into 2 groups as A and B of 20 each. Each group was further subdivided in two groups of 10 each depending on the day of sacrifice i.e. 5th and 7th day after infliction of wound on buccal mucosa. After anesthesia, a circular 3mm wide and 1mm deep excisional wound was created on the right buccal mucosa adjacent to maxillary molar teeth of each rabbit, using a punch biopsy tool. Group A animals were left without any treatment while the animals of group B were given 30mg/kg body weight of curcumin daily by oral gavage. The histological analysis revealed that animals treated with curcumin experienced faster epithelialization and collagenization than that in the control group, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of curcumin as anti-inflammatory agent in inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe silver organometallic compounds favorably target DNA in cancerous cells and stop their growth by inhibiting DNA replication. Specific properties of these compounds help in their action as drugs and different changes occur in the structure of DNA. In-depth study of the binding mechanism of drugs is of potential use for novel drug synthesis. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with multivariate data analysis was employed to probe the interaction of silver N-heterocyclic carbene complex (drug) with DNA. In this study, silver N-heterocyclic carbene complex was synthesized and various concentrations were exposed to known concentrations of DNA. Silver nanoparticles were used for enhancement of Raman signals, which enabled sensitive detection and characterization of molecular changes occurring during binding process. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were applied to extract meaningful information from the spectral data. Changes in intensity and position of significant SERS signals were noted, which gave an indication of the bonding of the drug with DNA. The results reveal the strong intercalative binding of drug with nitrogenous bases of DNA. PCA and PLS-DA provide evidence for successful DNA-drug interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nasolabial angle (NLA) is a key indicator of facial esthetics and plays an important role in extraction decision in clinical orthodontics. The aim of this study is to evaluate correlation of NLA with maxillary incisor inclination (SN-UI) and upper lip thickness (ULT). Pretreatment cephalometric records of 200 patients with skeletal class I and average vertical proportions were taken after sample size calculation. NLA, ULT and SN-UI were measured on acetate paper sheet attached to lateral cephalogram. Descriptive statics were generated for all the variables involved in the study. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate association between SN-UI and ULT with NLA. A p value < 0.05 was taken as significant. Mean age of the total sample in this study was 20.28+3.860 years. Sn-UI was 106.90°+8.640° while NLA was 97.62°+9.899°. ULT was found to be 13.20+7.57 mm. A correlation coefficient of -.116 was found between NLA and SN-UI while correlation coefficient of 0.089 was found between NLA and ULT. Both correlations were greater than 0.05 p value. Maxillary incisor inclination and upper lip thickness show weak and statistically insignificant correlation with nasolabial angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maxillary canines are considered as the cornerstone of the mouth. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and unfold various patterns present in maxillary canine impactions using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Digital records of 3469 patient were collected from two different radiological units. Sorting of CBCT data was done for identification of maxillary impacted canine's cases. Data were analyzed statistically, and descriptive statics were generated for age, gender, quadrant, and position of impacted canines. Chi-square test was used to check the difference in the distribution of impacted canines regarding gender, quadrant and position of impacted teeth. A p-value of <0.05 was taken as significant. One hundred and eighty-seven patients were identified with impacted maxillary canines making a prevalence of 5%, with a mean age of 17.9 +2.65 years. 117 impacted canine cases were located in females while 70 impacted canine cases were in males. Female to male ratio was1.67:1. Statistically, a significant difference was noted between genders (p-value =0.00). No difference was noted between genders regarding quadrant and position of impacted canines. Higher prevalence of impacted canine was noted in females, while left side predominance was found in both genders. Palatal impactions were most common while a higher prevalence of buccal impaction, than previously reported was noted in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To find the relationship involving autistic traits, paranormal beliefs and emotional response bias in obsessive compulsive disorder patients., Method: The cross-sectional quasi-experimental study was conducted from November 2017 to November 2018 at the Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan, and comprised patients with obsessive compulsive disorder and healthy controls from the general population aged 20-40 years. Data was collected using the self-reporting Autism Spectrum Quotient, the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale, the Emotional Recognition Task and the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder symptom checklist. Data was analysed using SPSS 20., Results: Of the 140 participants, there were 70(50%) patients and as many controls. Overall, there were 72(52%) males and 68(48%) females. High level of autistic traits (p<0.001) and paranormal beliefs (p<0.001) had a significant impact on obsessive compulsive disorder. Impairments in recognition of emotions were related to the presence of high autistic traits and obsessive compulsive symptoms in the patients group (p<0.05). Emotion of disgust (p<0.001) was significantly impaired in the patients, while the differences were not significant in terms of emotions of happiness and surprise (p>0.05)., Conclusions: Autistic traits, paranormal beliefs and emotional response bias were found to have a significant relationship in obsessive compulsive disorder patients.

Objective: To evaluate the antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antidiarrheal activities of the ethanolic calyx extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. in mice., Methods: In the present study, the dried calyxes of H. sabdariffa were subjected to extraction with 95% ethanol and the extract was used to investigate the possible activities. Antinociceptive activity of the extract was evaluated by using the acetic acid-induced writhing test. The anti-inflammatory effect of the extract was tested by using the xylene-induced ear edema model mice. Castor oil-induced diarrheal model mice were used to evaluate the antidiarrheal activity of the extract., Results: In acetic acid-induced writhing test, the extract produced inhibited writhing in mice significantly compared with the blank control (P<0.01). The extract showed significant inhibition of ear edema formation in xylene-induced ear edema model mice in a dose-related manner compared with the blank control (P<0.01). The extract demonstrated a significant antidiarrheal activity against castor oil-induced diarrheal in mice in which it decreased the frequency of defecation and increased the mean latent period at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (P<0.01)., Conclusion: The above mentioned findings indicate that the calyx extract of H. sabdariffa possesses significant antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antidiarrheal activities that support its uses in traditional medicine.