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The series "Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing" contains publications on various topics in the area of soft computing, which include fuzzy sets, rough sets, neural networks, evolutionary computation, probabilistic and evidential reasoning, multi-valued logic, and related fields. The publications within "Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing" are primarily monographs and edited volumes. They cover significant recent developments in the field, both of a foundational and applicable character. An important feature of the series is its short publication time and world-wide distribution. This permits a rapid and broad dissemination of research results.

<p class="Abstract"><em>The Quality of Work life (QWL) is the employees’ feeling or perception of being comfortable with their work. The objective of the present study was to compare Quality of School Work Life (QSWL) of public school teachers from Turkey and Pakistan. A QSWL scale developed by Ilgan, Ata, Zepeda and Ozu-Cengiz (2014) having 30 items was used as the research instrument. The sample included 995 Turkish teachers (from 8 cities) and 716 Pakistani teachers (from 5 cities of Punjab). Reliability coefficient of QSWL scale was 0.81. Further, five subscales within the QSWL tools were identified through its exploratory factor analysis. On all these 5 subscales of QSWL (when analysed separately), Turkish and Pakistani teachers differed significantly in their perceptions; however, they were found appreciating similar QSWL in the aggregate analyses. In detailed analyses of various subgroups only female teachers from Pakistan were found better on QSWL than their Turkish counterparts. </em></p>

Recombinant human consensus interferon (rh-cIFN) is an artificially engineered interferon (IFN) developed by recombining and reordering the protein sequences that exist in standard IFN. This recombination resulted into a drug that has the potential to work better than natural, standard IFN. In this study, we described optimized conditions for high-level expression and recovery of biologically active consensus IFN from inclusion bodies (IBs). A synthetic gene coding 166 amino acids of consensus IFN was cloned under the T7 promoter. Escherichia coli strain BL21DE3Plys was used to transform expression construct. For high-level expression, shake-flask fermentation conditions were standardized. For isolation of IBs, the sonication method was optimized. A variety of chaotropic agents including guanidine hydrochloride, urea, SDS, and detergents were studied for solubilization of IBs. For renaturation of solubilized denatured protein by the dilution process, parameters of dilution factor, temperature, and l-arginine were optimized. A one-step chromatography method was developed for high-yield purification of consensus IFN. rh-cIFN was characterized by SDS-PAGE, Western blot, and high-performance liquid chromatography. Purified protein has a molecular weight of 19.5 kDa and specific activity was 2.0 × 10(8) as determined by the cytopathic inhibition assay. This study concludes that by using optimized conditions, we obtained a yield of 100 mg/L of biologically active rh-cIFN, which is highest ever reported according to available data.

Purpose: To improve the loan repayment performance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Pakistan, this research not only analyses the direct effect of multiple borrowing on loan repayment performance but also determining the indirect impact of multiple borrowing on loan repayment performance through the mediating role of over-indebtedness and moderate role of moral hazard between over-indebtedness and loan repayment performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a rich dataset comprised of information provided by the employees of MFIs working in Pakistan. The primary data were collected through the structural questionnaire, reliability and validity of construct were established in the light of different techniques including (1) Factor Loading (2) Cronbach’s Alpha (3) Composite Reliability (4) Average Variance Extracted (5) Variance Inflation Factor (6) Fornell-Larcker Criterion and (7) HTMT Ratio. Moreover, structural equation modeling techniques were applied in this study and, hypotheses were tested through bootstrapping by using PLS-SEM. Findings: The results confirm not the only direct impact of multiple borrowing on loan repayment performance and over-indebtedness but also mediating role of over-indebtedness between multiple borrowing and loan repayment performances. Aside from the direct influence of over-indebtedness on loan repayment performance, the moderate role of moral hazard on the association between over-indebtedness and loan payback was also found. Application of the Study: The findings of this study will be communicated with all Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the future so that policies may be developed to address the factors that negatively affect the loan repayment performance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). Besides this, the outcomes of this study will also enable the MFIs to launch different loaning products that not only fulfill the borrower’s requirements but also ensure the interest of MFIs. Originality/value: Until now, the impact of multiple borrowing on loan repayment performance through mediating role of over-indebtedness and moderating role of moral hazard in the context of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) of Pakistan have hardly been investigated. This study also enhances the understanding of MFIs regarding multiple borrowing and its subsequent impact on loan repayment performance. Moreover, the findings of this study enable the MFIs of Pakistan to improve their loan repayment performance by formulating the new lending policies in light of the finding of this study with special reference to multiple borrowing.