• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 2022

The necessity for a theoretical explanation of the negative association between capital structure and company performance is identified in this study. By focusing on accounting metrics of business performance, this study is the first to investigate the moderating effects of firm size between these variables using logical reasoning. Due to the possibility of endogeneity, this study applies a two-step system GMM approach with data from 285 non-financial enterprises from PSX over a 21-year period. For robustness, we employed pooled OLS, fixed effect, and two-step difference GMM. Our data show that leverage has a detrimental impact on business performance, with size acting as a moderator in the same direction. Our analysis empirically supports some studies while refuting others due to inconsistent results in the literature, but no study has theoretically justified their negative link. We believe that because larger companies have more and easier access to capital markets, they focus primarily on the amount of return, even if the investment is inefficient in terms of the rate of return, but small businesses do not. As a result of this thinking, firm managers' performance suffers as a result of leverage.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.345-352
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• 2022

This study examines the impact of female representation on board of directors and audit committees on financial reporting quality, which also discusses the moderating role of family ownership in female representation on boards of directors and audit committees and financial reporting quality. The unbalanced panel is made up of 271 non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2008 to 2019.The findings reveal that female representation on the board of directors has a large and negative impact on financial reporting, but female representation on the audit committee has a significant positive impact on financial reporting quality. Furthermore, the results reveal that family ownership has a negative impact on the relationship between female presence on boards of directors and financial reporting quality. Furthermore, the findings show that family ownership reduces the impact of female involvement in audit committees on the quality of financial reporting. However, family ownership has no direct impact on financial reporting quality.Our findings suggest that selecting females to serve on boards of directors and audit committees should be based on specific criteria (e.g., monitoring abilities, business competence, knowledge, and experience) rather than on family relationships.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.339-341
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• 2023

This paper presents a multithread and efficient cryptographic hardware access (MECHA) for efficient and fast cryptographic operations that eliminates the need for context switching. Utilizing a UNIX domain socket, MECHA manages multiple requests from multiple applications simultaneously, resulting in faster processing and improved efficiency. We comprise several key components, including the Server thread, Client thread, Transceiver thread, and a pair of Sender and Receiver queues. MECHA design is portable and can be used with any communication protocol, with experimental results demonstrating a 83% increase in the speed of concurrent cryptographic requests compared to conventional interface design. MECHA architecture has significant potential in the field of secure communication applications ranging from cloud computing to the IoT, offering a faster and more efficient solution for managing multiple cryptographic operation requests concurrently.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2024.05a
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• pp.175-178
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• 2024

IoT is becoming more and more popular, along with the massive availability of cheap and easy-to-use IoT devices. One protocol that is often used in IoT devices is the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol. By default, the MQTT protocol does not activate encrypted data security features. This MQTT default feature makes the transmitted and received message data vulnerable to attacks, such as eavesdropping. Therefore, this paper will design and implement encrypted data security using the lightweight cryptography algorithm. The focus of this paper will be on securing MQTT message data at the application layer. We propose a method for encrypting specific MQTT message fields while maintaining compatibility with the protocol's functionalities. The paper then analyzes the timing performance of the MQTT-LEA implementation on the Raspberry Pi 3+. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of using LEA at the application layer to secure MQTT message communication on resource-constrained devices.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2024.05a
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• pp.235-238
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• 2024

This paper investigates the integration of ARIA cryptography within hardware secure modules to bolster IoT security. We present a comparative analysis of two prominent IoT communication protocols, MQTT and LwM2M, augmented with ARIA cryptography. The study evaluates their performance, security, and scalability in practical IoT applications. Our experimental setup comprises FPGA-enabled hardware secure modules interfaced with Raspberry Pi acting as an MQTT and LwM2M client. We utilize the Mosquitto MQTT server and an LwM2M server deployed on AWS IoT. Through rigorous experimentation, we measure various performance metrics, including latency, throughput, and resource utilization. Additionally, security aspects are scrutinized, assessing the resilience of each protocol against common IoT security threats. Our findings highlight the efficacy of ARIA cryptography in bolstering IoT security and reveal insights into the comparative strengths and weaknesses of MQTT and LwM2M protocols. These results contribute to the development of robust and secure IoT systems, paving the way for future research in this domain.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.13.1-13.5
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• 2014

The production performance of multiparous lactating Sahiwal cows (n = 24) was evaluated according to both milking frequency and method. Selected animals were randomly divided into four groups containing six animals each under a completely randomized design. Cows in groups A & B were milked by the hand milking method three times per day, respectively. Similarly, cows in groups C & D were milked by the machine milking method two and three times per day, respectively. All animals were maintained under uniform feeding and management conditions. Dry matter intake was high in animal groups milked three times per day, and it remained unchanged between the hand and machine milking methods. Milk yield was higher (P < 0.05) in cows milked three times compared to those milked twice per day, and it did not differ between hand and machine milking methods. Milk fat percentage was higher (P < 0.05) in cows milked twice per day compared to those milked three times using both machine and hand milking methods. The percentage of total solids showed a similar pattern as the fat percentage. However, percentages of protein, lactose, and non-fat solids in milk were not significantly different (P > 0.05) among the treatment groups. Collectively, the results show that milking three times per day instead of twice at 8-hour intervals can enhance milk yield in Sahiwal cows using both hand and machine milking methods.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.1059-1068
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of using low energy diet with multi-enzymes supplementation on different biological parameters in broilers. Methods: Three hundred Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly divided into three groups (Cont, standard metabolizable energy(ME); L-ME, ME reduced by 50 kcal/kg without enzyme; and L-ME-MES, L-ME diet was supplemented with multi-enzymes) with five replicates per group (20 chicks per replicate) at the start of second week. Grower and finisher diets were formulated according to breed specific guide and offered with free access in respective phase (two weeks for grower [8 to 21 d]; two weeks for finisher [22 to 35 d]). External marker method was used to measure the nutrient digestibility. After feeding trial, fifteen birds (one bird per replicate) were selected randomly and slaughtered for samples collection. Results: The results exhibited no effect (p>0.05) of dietary treatments on all parameters of growth performance, carcass traits, relative weight of internal organs except bursa and overall parameters of thigh meat quality. Relative weight of bursa was significantly (p<0.05) higher in L-ME than control. Multi-enzymes supplementation in low-ME diet significantly (p<0.05) improved the breast meat pH 24 h, digestibility of crude protein, duodenum weight and length, jejunal morphology, counts of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp., lipase and protease activities than control. Jejunum length was increased in both L-ME and L-ME-MES treatments than that of the control (p<0.05). Breast meat cooking loss and color lightness was lower in L-ME (p<0.05) than control. Conclusion: It can therefore be concluded that broilers could be reared on low energy diet with supplementation of multi-enzymes without compromising the growth performance. In addition, it is beneficial for other biological parameters of broilers.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1575-1584
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• 2022

Objective: An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of partially replacing soybean meal (SBM) with sunflower meal (SFM) with added exogenous multienzymes (MEs) on various biological parameters in broilers. Methods: One week-old, 400 broiler chicks were randomly divided into four treatments (control, 3SFM, 6SFM, and 9SFM) with 5 replicates/treatment (20 chicks/replicate). Control diet was without SFM and MEs, while diets of 3SFM, 6SFM, and 9SFM treatments were prepared by replacing SBM with SFM at levels of 3%, 6%, and 9%, respectively, and were supplemented with MEs (100 mg/kg). Feeding trial was divided into grower (8 to 21 day) and finisher phases (22 to 35 day). External marker method was used to measure the nutrient digestibility. At the end of trial, twenty birds (one birds per replicate) with similar body weight were slaughtered for samples collection. Results: No significant effect of dietary treatments was found on all parameters of growth performance and carcass characteristics, except relative weight of bursa. Weight (25.0 g) and length (15.80 cm) of duodenum were significantly (p<0.05) higher in 3SFM than control. Lowest (p<0.05) villus height/crypt depth ratio was found in 3SFM and 9SFM than control. Most of meat quality parameters remained unaffected, however, highest pH of breast meat (6.16) and thigh meat (6.44) were observed in 9SFM and 3SFM, respectively. Lowest (p<0.05) cook loss of thigh meat was found in 6SFM (31.76%). Ileal digestibility of crude protein was significantly (p<0.05) higher in 3SFM (72.35%) than control (69.46%). In addition, amylase (16.87 U/mg) and protease (85.18 U/mg) activities were significantly (p<0.05) higher in 3SFM than control. However, cecal microbial count remained unaffected. Conclusion: Partial replacement (up to 9%) of SBM with SFM, with added MEs can help to improve the nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and digestive enzyme activities without affecting cecal microbial count and growth performance in broilers.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.689-698
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• 2020

The aim of study was to scrutinize the physicochemical and protein profile of milk obtained from local Pakistani breeds of milch animals such as Nilli-Ravi buffalo, Sahiwal cow, Kajli sheep, Beetal goat and Brela camel. Physicochemical analysis unveiled maximum number of total solids and protein found in sheep and minimum in camel. Buffalo milk contains the highest level of fat (7.45%) while camel milk contains minimum (1.94%). Ash was found maximum in buffalo (0.81%) and sheep (0.80%) while minimum in cow's milk (0.71%). Casein and whey proteins were separated by subjecting milk to isoelectric pH and then analyzed through sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The results showed heterogeneity among these species. Different fractions including α_S1, α_S2, κ-casein, β-casein and β-lactoglobulen (β-Lg) were identified and quantitatively compared in all milk samples. Additionally, this electrophoretic method after examining the number and strength of different protein bands (α_S1, α_S2, β-CN, α-LAC, BSA, and β-Lg, etc.), was helpful to understand the properties of milk for different processing purposes and could be successfully applied in dairy industry. Results revealed that camel milk was best suitable for producing allergen free milk protein products. Furthermore, based on the variability of milk proteins, it is suggested to clarify the phylogenetic relationships between different cattle breeds and to gather the necessary data to preserve the genetic fund and biodiversity of the local breeds. Thus, the study of milk protein from different breed and species has a wide range of scope in producing diverse protein based dairy products like cheese.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.3349-3355
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• 2012

Background and objectives: Chromosomal abnormalities play an important role in genesis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and have prognostic implications. Five major risk stratifying fusion genes in ALL are BCR-ABL, MLL-AF4, ETV6-RUNX11, E2A-PBX1 and SIL-TAL1. This work aimed to detect common chromosomal translocations and associated fusion oncogenes in adult ALL patients and study their relationship with clinical features and treatment outcome. Methods: We studied fusion oncogenes in 104 adult ALL patients using RT-PCR and interphase-FISH at diagnosis and their association with clinical characteristics and treatment outcome. Results: Five most common fusion genes i.e. BCR-ABL (t 9; 22), TCF3-PBX1 (t 1; 19), ETV6-RUNX1 (t 12; 21), MLL-AF4 (t 4; 11) and SIL-TAL1 (Del 1p32) were found in 82/104 (79%) patients. TCF3-PBX1 fusion gene was associated with lymphadenopathy, SIL-TAL1 positive patients had frequent organomegaly and usually presented with a platelets count of less than $50{\times}10^9/l$. Survival of patients with fusion gene ETV6-RUNX1 was better when compared to patients harboring other genes. MLL-AF4 and BCR-ABL positivity characterized a subset of adult ALL patients with aggressive clinical behaviour and a poor outcome. Conclusions: This is the first study from Pakistan which investigated the frequency of5 fusion oncogenes in adult ALL patients, and their association with clinical features, treatment response and outcome. Frequencies of some of the oncogenes were different from those reported elsewhere and they appear to be associated with distinct clinical characteristics and treatment outcome. This information will help in the prognostic stratification and risk adapted management of adult ALL patients.