Showing papers by "Muhammad Khan published in 2017"

Genotypic Differences among Mung Bean ( Vigna radiata L.) Genotypes for Yield and Associated Traits

Abstract: Fourteen mung bean genotypes were evaluated at Barani Agricultural Research Station, Kohat during 2014 in randomized complete block design with three replications. Analysis of variance depicted significant differences among genotypes for all the traits studied. Maximum plant height was recorded for genotype VC-6321 (105.7cm), pod length for Mung NM-06 (9.7cm), seeds pod-1 for NM-19-19 (12), biological yield for NM-92 (13111.1 kgha-1), whereas Mung NM11 showed maximum values for pods plant-1 (22.5), 1000-grain weight (55.6 g), grain yield (3401.8 kg ha-1) and harvest index (36.5%). Genotype Mung NM11 showed highest values pods plant-1, 1000-grain weight and grain yield and could be recommended for general cultivation in Kohat region.

Antecedents and precedents of employee conflict among academics of higher education institutions in Pakistan

Abstract: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Pakistan are consistently witnessing an increased level of conflicts among employees. This increase impacts significantly the culture of the institutions. Furthermore, literature has indicated the importance of organizational culture in reshaping employees’ work practices and empowerment, specifically, in relation to the three types of conflicts such as task, process and relationship. However, the relationship of each conflict type with employees’ performance is unclear and there have been limited studies to identify antecedents of the conflicts in organizations. Thus, the objectives of this study are to examine the interrelationship of organizational culture, employee empowerment and employee conflict, and its impact on employee performance with moderating role of conflict management. A proportionate random sample of 240 academic staff from HEIs in Pakistan was respondents for the study. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the empirical relationship. Results indicated that HEIs’ culture has a negative relationship with employee conflict, and this conflict has a negative relationship with employee’s performance. The findings showed that employee empowerment mediates the relationship between organizational culture and employee conflict, whilst conflict management moderates the relationship of employee conflict and employee performance. Besides, the study also found that relationship conflict has a negative relationship with employee performance while task conflict has a positive relationship. However, the study did not find any evidence of a relationship between process conflict and employee performance. The results of the current study are helpful for HEIs’ management to develop strategies to reduce relationship conflicts by empowering their employees.

Improved Post-Resuscitation Survival Time with Adjuvant Cytosolic Energy Replenishment in a Murine Model of Hemorrhagic Refractory Shock

Abstract: Objective: A refractory haemorrhagic hypovolemic shock (HS) resuscitation is challenging. HS is associated with profound depletions of cellular energy nucleotides that can cause death from a cardio-circulatory arrest. To prevent an imminent cardio-circulatory arrest, vasopressors, commonly norepinephrine is usually temporarily administered to manage a persistent hypotension that is not corrected by aggressive resuscitation efforts. The objective of this study is to determine the post-resuscitation survival time after adjuvant resuscitations of a refractory HS with norepinephrine, vasopressin or direct cytosolic energy (adenosine-5`-triphosphate, ATP) replenishment using lipid vesicles encapsulating ATP (ATPv). Methods: 50 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to 5 groups of 10 each: HS/conventional resuscitation (CR), HS/CR+Norepinephrine, HS/CR+Vasopressin, HS/CR+Vesicles, and HS/CR+ATPv. (HS=initial removal of 30% of the calculated blood volume, a 60 min hypotensive phase, and a subsequent transection of the spleen for uncontrolled haemorrhage until persistent shock index (SI)>5 and mean arterial pressure (MAP)<35 mmHg were achieved; CR=shed blood returned+double the shed blood volume as lactated Ringer’s solution). Direct cytosolic ATP replenishment was accomplished with ATPv, which are highly fusogenic lipid vesicles encapsulating ATP. Fusion of the ATPv with the cell membrane on contact, allows for direct cytosolic ATP delivery. We determined the post-resuscitation survival time as the end-point of the study. Results: All animals displayed the same class of shock as demonstrated by the SI and MAP. Median postresuscitation survival times (computed by the Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the long-rank Mantel-Cox test) were as follows: HS/CR=35.5 min; HS/CR+Norepinephrine=38.5 min; HS/CR+Vasopressin=20 min; HS/CR+Lipid Vesicles control=88.5 min; and HS/CR+ATPv=158.5 min (p<0.001). Conclusion: The replenishment of the depleted cellular cytosolic energy stores in a refractory haemorrhagic hypotensive shock prolongs post-resuscitation survival time and delays cardio-circulatory arrest. This buys time for the initiation of definitive resuscitation protocols. Cellular energy failure appears to contribute to the pathogenesis of shock refractoriness to resuscitation efforts. The temporary administration of vasopressors for pressure-support resuscitation of a refractory haemorrhagic hypovolemic shock exerts no survival benefits.

A Formally Reliable Cognitive Middleware for the Security of Industrial Control Systems

Abstract: In this paper, we present our results on the formal reliability analysis of the behavioral correctness of our cognitive middleware ARMET. The formally assured behavioral correctness of a software system is a fundamental prerequisite for the system’s security. Therefore, the goal of this study is to, first, formalize the behavioral semantics of the middleware and, second, to prove its behavioral correctness. In this study, we focus only on the core and critical component of the middleware: the execution monitor. The execution monitor identifies inconsistencies between runtime observations of an industrial control system (ICS) application and predictions of the specification of the application. As a starting point, we have defined the formal (denotational) semantics of the observations (produced by the application at run-time), and predictions (produced by the executable specification of the application). Then, based on the formal semantices, we have formalized the behavior of the execution monitor. Finally, based on the semantics, we have proved soundness (absence of false alarms) and completeness (detection of arbitrary attacks) to assure the behavioral correctness of the monitor.