The relationship between political instability and stock market performance: An analysis of the MSCI index in the case of Pakistan.

The stock market is the barometer of the economy that reflects the overall health and direction of the economic development and is affected by different factors including social, environmental and political. It is important to investigate the effect of the political instability on the stock market performance, especially on emerging economies. Therefore, we aim to study the relationship between political instability and stock market performance in Pakistan. To meet our objectives, we used past data from 1996 to 2021. Data are collected from the DataStream data base. MSCI indices are used as the proxy for the Stock market performance of the selected country. World governance six indicators are used in the study as the explanatory variable concentrating the political instability index as the main explanatory variable. Regression analysis is used but two-way robustness analysis was done for the accuracy of the findings through GMM methods and taking GDP as another endogenous variable. Our findings shows that the political stability has significant positive impact on the stock market performance while, political instability has negative impact on stock market performance. Moreover, other governance indicators has a significant positive impact on performance. However, political instability disrupts the operations and economical activities that leads to decrease the investor confidence and also decrease the foreign investment with the increment of the risk in the country. Moreover, our study has some implications for investors to develop the diversified portfolio to minimize the risk and policy makers can increase their foreign direct investment within the economy by controlling the political instability.

Predicting Interfacial Tension and Adsorption at Fluid-Fluid Interfaces for Mixtures of PFAS and/or Hydrocarbon Surfactants.

Many per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are surface-active and adsorb at fluid-fluid interfaces. The interfacial adsorption controls PFAS transport in multiple environmental systems, including leaching through soils, accumulation in aerosols, and treatment methods such as foam fractionation. Most PFAS contamination sites comprise mixtures of PFAS as well as hydrocarbon surfactants, which complicates their adsorption behaviors. We present a mathematical model for predicting interfacial tension and adsorption at fluid-fluid interfaces for multicomponent PFAS and hydrocarbon surfactants. The model is derived from simplifying a prior advanced thermodynamic-based model and applies to nonionic and ionic mixtures of the same charge sign with swamping electrolytes. The only required model inputs are the single-component Szyszkowski parameters obtained for the individual components. We validate the model using literature interfacial tension data of air-water and NAPL (non-aqueous phase liquid)-water interfaces covering a wide range of multicomponent PFAS and hydrocarbon surfactants. Application of the model to representative porewater PFAS concentrations in the vadose zone suggests competitive adsorption can significantly reduce PFAS retention (up to 7 times) at some highly contaminated sites. The multicomponent model can be readily incorporated into transport models to simulate the migration of mixtures of PFAS and/or hydrocarbon surfactants in the environment.

Reviving the role of mecillinam against extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing enterobacterales.

Background and Objectives: This study was designed to determine the in vitro efficacy of mecillinam against extended spectrum beta lactamse producing Enterobacterales. Materials and Methods: After proper permission from Ethical Review Committee of the Institute, all samples yielding growth of ESBL producing Enterobacterales were part of the study and were processed according to routine microbiological procedures. Routine antibiotic sensitivity testing was done on Muller Hinton Agar by Modified Kirby Bauer Method. All Gram negative isolates were subjected to concomitant detection of ESBL production by double disc synergy method. All ESBL producers were then subjected to the mecillinam Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) determination by E test. The results were interpreted as per CLSI Guidelines. Results: A total of 120 ESBL producing Enterobacterales isolates were included in the study. The mean age of patients with ESBL infection was 45 ± 18.7 years. There were 44% male and 55% female patients. Majority of the ESBL producing Enterobacterales were isolated from urine samples (56%), followed by pus. Among the isolated organisms, Escherichia coli (45%) was the most frequently isolated organism followed by Klebsiella spp. (22%). Overall 83% of the isolates turned out to be sensitive to mecillinam. MIC50 of mecillinam against ESBL producing Gram negative rods (GNR) turned out to be 1 ug/ml and MIC90 turned out to be 2 ug/ml. Conclusion: Mecillinam shows good in vitro efficacy against ESBL producing Enterobacterales in our study. Further studies with more sample size and from diverse areas across the country should be done to evaluate its efficacy.

The impact of multiple-component PFAS solutions on fluid-fluid interfacial adsorption and transport of PFOS in unsaturated porous media.

The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of multiple-component PFAS solutions on the retention of PFOS during transport in unsaturated porous media. Surface tensions were measured to characterize the impact of co-PFAS on the surface activity of PFOS. Miscible-displacement experiments were conducted to examine the air-water interfacial adsorption of PFOS during transport in single and multi-PFAS systems. Literature data for transport of PFOS in NAPL-water systems were also investigated for comparison. A mathematical model incorporating surfactant-induced flow, nonlinear rate-limited sorption, nonlinear rate-limited fluid-fluid interfacial adsorption, and competitive adsorption at the fluid-fluid interface was used to simulate the transport of PFOS. The results indicate that the presence of co-PFAS had no measurable impact on solid-phase sorption of PFOS during transport under the extant conditions of the experiments. Conversely, the air-water interfacial adsorption of PFOS was decreased by the presence of co-PFAS during transport under unsaturated-flow conditions for relatively high input concentrations. The multiple-component Langmuir model could not predict the competitive adsorption behavior observed during transport. Conversely, competitive interactions were not observed for transport with a lower input concentration. The results indicate that the retention and transport of individual PFAS in mixtures may in some cases be impacted by the presence of co-PFAS due to competitive fluid-fluid interfacial adsorption effects. Reduced retention due to competitive interfacial-adsorption interactions has the potential to decrease PFOS retardation during transport, thereby increasing migration rates in sources zones and enhancing groundwater-pollution risks. SYNOPSIS: The impact of PFAS mixtures on the retention and transport of PFOS in unsaturated porous media is examined with a series of experiments and mathematical modeling.

The Spectrum of Non-ischemic Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings: A Retrospective Analysis.

Introduction Since cardiac pathologies remain ubiquitous, their prompt diagnosis through the means of innovative technologies, such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, remains pivotal. The spectrum of these pathologies varies widely, ranging from ischemic etiologies to rare cardiac malignancies. This study evaluates the prevalence of nonischemic cardiac pathologies, such as infiltrative heart diseases, that often warrant meticulous diagnostic evaluation through the means of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Methods We performed a retrospective study in order to analyse the cardiac magnetic resonance imaging records of 250 patients over a period of six months with previously remarkable cardiac histories. Patients with a prior history of ischemic cardiac disease, as determined from past medical and surgical records, were excluded from the study. The prevalence of various nonischemic findings was ascertained. The demographic characteristics and comorbidities of the patients were also tabulated.  Results In the present study, 250 patients were included, of which 115 were females and 135 were males, with the mean age hovering at 48.21 ± 11.49 years. The top two most prevalent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging findings were concentric moderate-to-severe left ventricular hypertrophy and patchy subendocardial late gadolinium enhancement of the left ventricle; these were observed in 62.2% and 23.7% of the patients, respectively. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging also divulged findings typical of rarer pathologies, including cardiac sarcoidosis and primary cardiac lymphoma. Conclusion Pathologies of the heart often mandate extensive diagnostic workup through the means of radiological modalities such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. In patients with indications of nonischemic cardiac pathologies, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging can be employed as part of the initial radiological armamentarium. Furthermore, cardiac magnetic resonance remains the imaging modality of choice for detecting infrequent cardiac pathologies, such as cardiac sarcoidosis.

Relating gas phase to solution conformations: Lessons from disordered proteins.

In recent years both mass spectrometry (MS) and ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) have been developed as techniques with which to study proteins that lack a fixed tertiary structure but may contain regions that form secondary structure elements transiently, namely intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). IM-MS is a suitable method for the study of IDPs which provides an insight to conformations that are present in solution, potentially enabling the analysis of lowly populated structural forms. Here, we describe the IM-MS data of two IDPs; α-Synuclein (α-Syn) which is implicated in Parkinson's disease, and Apolipoprotein C-II (ApoC-II) which is involved in cardiovascular diseases. We report an apparent discrepancy in the way that ApoC-II behaves in the gas phase. While most IDPs, including α-Syn, present in many charge states and a wide range of rotationally averaged collision cross sections (CCSs), ApoC-II presents in just four charge states and a very narrow range of CCSs, independent of solution conditions. Here, we compare MS and IM-MS data of both proteins, and rationalise the differences between the proteins in terms of different ionisation processes which they may adhere to.