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The Purpose of this research study is to measure the comparative financial performance of Islamic banking sector and conventional banking sector of Pakistan in terms of profitability, liquidity and risk & solvency. This research work also facilitate to all the stakeholders of Islamic banking sector and conventional banking sector including country heads of banks, branch managers, shareholders, creditors, investors, religious segment of population and regulatory bodies of Pakistan. Sample size consist of ten banks selected by using the conveyance sampling techniques including five leading Islamic banks (Meezan Bank, Bank Islami, Burj Bank, Dubai Islami Bank and Albarka Bank) and five conventional banks (MCB Bank Ltd, United Bank Ltd, Allied Bank Ltd, Habib Bank Ltd & Bank of the Punjab). The findings of the study indicated that conventional banking stream dominating on Islamic banking sector with respect to profitability at the cost of worst liquidity and high risk. Islamic banking sector dominated on conventional banking stream with reference to liquidity and risk & solvency at the cost of low profitability.

Bromelain is a mixture of protein digesting (proteolytic) enzymes found in pineapples (Ananas comosus). The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of bromelain as an anti browning agent, extracted and purified from pineapple crown and pulp. The efficacy of extracted bromelain was compared with widely used anti browning agents. Bromelain purified by ion exchange chromatography was run through a SDS PAGE gel and was found to be having a molecular weight ranging from 20 to 30 kDa. The effect of pH and temperature on the protease activity of bromelain sample was also estimated. The anti browning activity was found out to be higher in the fruit pulp extract in comparison with the crown leaf extract as the former showed higher protease activity almost twice the crown leaf extract. Bromelain within the concentration range of 0.1% to 0.8% hardly proved to be a potent anti browning agent but 1% crown extract bromelain was a better anti browning agent than acetic acid and also fruit pulp bromelain was found to be a much better anti browning agent than ascorbic acid and acetic acid.

An efficient, convenient and cost-effective method to synthesize 3,5-bis-(arylmethylidene)-tetrahydropyran-4-one derivatives using alum (KAl(SO4)2.12H2O) as catalyst was performed in aqueous media. This method has several advantages such as environmental friendliness, high yields and simple workup procedure.

ABSTRACT The use of the laser in its relationship to dentistry is a new tool. Surgical lasers have been used in medicine for over a decade in the surgical specialties of Otolaryngology, dermatology, plastic surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, urology, thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, orthopaedics and most recently in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Recently lasers have been recommended as an alternative or adjunctive therapy in the control and treatment of periodontally diseased root surface. Lasers commonly used in dentistry are CO2, Nd:YAG, Ho:YAG, Er: YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, Nd:YAP, GaAs (diode) and argon .The present article aims at providing an overview of basic principles and various types of lasers used in periodontal therapy.

Table of contents for the month of April 2018

Chronic non-communicable diseases are the major threat to the health of population in developing countries. Tobacco smoking is one of the preventable underlying factors responsible for this group of diseases. Pakistan faces a higher prevalence of smoking despite the fact that masses are well aware about the ill health effects arising from smoking, thus leading to high unmet need for cessation of smoking. The current community based study on three hundred & twenty subjects looked into the situation unmet need & determinants for higher level of unmet need. The overall prevalence of current smoking in both genders was 49%. There was however no significant relation between gender & smoking (p=0.28). The met need to quit smoking was 21.5% while unmet need to quit smoking was computed as 26.15%. The reasons for not being able to quit smoking were that smokers were of the opinion that they could fully control their smoking habits in future (28.6%; p=0.08), smokers were unaware about smoking cessation services (54.4%; p=0.02), lack of training to health care providers for imparting counseling services (37.2%; p=0.05), the subjects expressed need to establish locally based services with community based smoking cessation advisors (78.6%; p=0.01). The study concluded that in presence of high motivation among smokers to quit smoking, there is urgent need to provide appropriate smoking cessation services to the target population.

Abstract Thomas Robert Malthus Theory of population highlighted the potential dangers of over population. He stated that while the populations of the world would increase in geometric proportions, the food resources available for them would increase in arithmetic proportions. This study was carried out to find the trend, fit a model and forecast for the population growth rate of Nigeria.The data were based on the population growth rate of Nigeria from 1982 to 2012 obtained from World Bank Data (data.worldbank.org). Both time and autocorrelation plots were used to assess the Stationarity of the data. Dickey-Fuller test was used to test for the unit root. Ljung box test was used to check for the fit of the fitted model. Time plot showed that the random fluctuations of the data are not constant over time. There was an initial decrease in the trend of the growth rate from 1983 to 1985 and an increase in 1986 which was constant till 1989 and then slight fluctuations from 1990 to 2004 and a general increase in trend from 2005 to 2012. There was a slow decay in the correlogram of the ACF and this implied that the process is non stationary. The series was stationary after second differencing, Dickey-Fuller = -4.7162, Lag order = 0, p-value = 0.01 at ?= 0.05. The p-value (0.01) and concluded that there is no unit root i.e the series is stationary having d=2. Correlogram and partial correlogram for the second-order differenced data showed that the ACF at lag 1 and lag 5 exceed the significant bounds and the partial correlogram tailed off at lag 2.The identified order for the ARIMA(p,d,q) model was ARIMA(2,2,1). The estimate of AR1 co-efficient =1.5803 is observed to be statistically significant but the estimated value does not conforms strictly to the bounds of the stationary parameter hence was excluded from the model. =-0.9273 is observed to be statistically significant and conformed strictly to the bounds of the stationary parameter , hence was maintained in the model. The estimate of MA1 co-efficient = - 0.1337 was observed to be statistically significant conformed strictly to the bounds of the parameter invertibility. For ARIMA (2, 2, 0) the estimate of AR1 co-efficient =1.5430 was observed to be statistically significant and not conformed strictly to the bounds of the parameter stationary, hence excluded from the model. The estimate of AR 2 co-efficient =-0.9000 is observed to be statistically significant and conformed strictly to the bounds of the parameter stationary, hence retained in the model. The ARIMA (2, 2, 0) is considered the best model. It has the smallest AIC. The Ljung test showed that residuals are random and implies that the model is fit enough for the data. The forecast Arima function gives us a forecast of the Population Growth Rate in the next thirty eight (38) years, as well as 80% and 95% prediction intervals for those predictions i.e up to 2050. Keywords: Modelling, ARIMA Model, Parameter, Dickey-Fuller, Stationarity

In recent years, fuzzy modeling technique has been successfully employed to model complex systems, where classical methods e.g. mathematical and model-free methods are inapplicabe due to the lack of sufficient information. Generally model free-methods such as neural networks are prefered when a significant amount of data exists as they provide more robust means to identify and reproduce the existing patterns in the available data. However, when limited amount of data exist but ambiguous or imprecise information are available, fuzzy reasoning provides a way to understand system behavior. Before Bouma (1989) introduced the term pedo-transfer functions (PTFs), described as translating data we have into what we need, some hydraulic properties’ PTFs had been developed in modeling water movement and solute transport in soil due to the increasing of computational speed and expanding of models’ complexity (Gupta and Larson, 1979). Many studies related to modeling various soil parameters using different types of PTFs has been conducted (Schaap et al., 1998; McBratney et al., 2002; Vos et al., 2005).

In the United States, foreign-born individuals are more than twice as likely to start new ventures, immigrant-owned businesses, however, fail within the first 5 years. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies U.S.-based Togolese small business owners who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo. The Schumpeterian entrepreneurship theory underpinned the study and served as a theoretical reference. Interview data were collected from 20 successful Togolese small business owners who resided in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo, and who had been in business for more than 5 years. Data analysis involved using coding techniques and word clustering, and qualitative data analytical software. The use of methodological triangulation enabled deeper analysis and added to the rigor of the study. The key themes emerging from the coding and thematic analysis of interviews included motivation and entrepreneurial characteristics such as risk propensity, entrepreneurial education, leadership, self-confidence, and vision. The findings of the study may improve the social and business success of immigrant business owners, and entrepreneurs may use the knowledge to improve business success, which could lead to the creation of jobs and improvement in the standard of living of U.S.-based Togolese entrepreneurs. The discoveries from the research may also contribute for the welfare of local communities in Togo, as the diaspora flow of investments and remittances from the United States may increase.

Didymoplexis seidenfadenii Sathish & Ormerod, Ixora agasthyamalayana Sivad & N. Mohanan, Kunstleria keralensis C. N. Mohanan & N. C. Nair, Melochia nodiflora Swartz, Merremia cissoides (Lam.) Hall. f. and Synedrella vialis (Less.) A. Garay, are reported here as additions to the flora of Tamil Nadu. A brief description with relevant notes is provided for the easy identification of taxa in the field.