Non-agricultural Market Access: A South Asian Perspective

A key element of the Doha Round of trade negotiations is liberalisation of trade in industrial products, commonly known as non-agricultural market access (NAMA). These negotiations are important for developing countries as these will determine the market access opportunities through which they can improve their growth prospects. This paper examines the key issues of NAMA from the South Asian perspective, outlines a negotiating strategy for increased market access, and spells out some policy implications.

Non-agricultural Market Access: A South Asian Perspective

Despite the fact that the WTO has helped to reduce the overall level of tariffs with increased transparency, a majority of the developing countries with the capacity to increase exports of labour intensive manufactures continue to face significant barriers in accessing foreign markets. Tariff rates applied by the developed countries for textile and clothing and leather for instance are much higher than those on other manufacturing products such as electronics, computers and telecom equipment, thus indicating a clear discrimination against exports of the developing countries. Moreover, tariff peaks, tariff escalation, tariff rate quotas and other non-tariff measures including antidumping duties, countervailing duties, and safeguard measures to protect against serious injury from import surges, allowed under the WTO, have become major impediments to market access for developing countries exports

Physico-Chemical and Microbial Analysis of Drinking Water of Four Springs of Danyore Gilgit Baltistan Pakistan

Drinking water of good quality is essential for human physiology whose continual existence depends on the availability of water and any sort of contamination in water which is above the standard limits set by International water regulating agencies can lead to water related diseases. So, the present investigation was conducted to determine the physico-chemical and bacteriological contents of four springs i.e.Heshi spring 1, Heshi spring 2, Kitaab Roong, and Kooti spring and its distribution system such as water reservoir inlet, outlet, mid and end point of distribution systems, junction where it merge with glacier water. The temperature was in a range of 13oC - 22oC. The turbidity of water samples fluctuate from 0.02NTU-1.99NTU. The pH value was in a range of 6.2-7.1. Electrical conductivity range of minimum 122µS/cm to a maximum of 600µS/cm. The TDS of all water samples ranging from minimum of 164-513mg/l. The amount of reactive ortho phosphate was in a range of 26mg/l to 59mg/L. The amount of total phosphorous was in a range of minimum 23m/L to maximum of 120mg/L. The total bacterial count was in a range of 11CFU/100ml to 83 CFU/100ml.The findings showed there should be comprehensive standardization of drinking water of Danyore village according to guidelines of WHO water quality standards and make it safe for human consumption

Pulmonary hyalinising granuloma: a rare pulmonary disorder

Pulmonary hyalinising granulomas are rare, noninfectious fibrosclerosing lesions of the lung which can mimic metastatic disease. It was first described in literature by Engleman et al in the year 1977. Its etiology is unknown but they may be caused by an exaggerated immune response. The patient typically presents with cough, chest pain. dyspnoea or haemoptysis in association with multiple bilateral parenchymal nodules. We report the case of a 20 years old male who presented with a 12-month history of worsening dry cough. His plain chest radiograph and subsequent CT scan revealed bilateral pulmonary nodules. A CT guided biopsy of the pulmonary lesions was consistent with Pulmonary Hyalinising Granuloma [PHG]

Hydraulic simulations to evaluate and predict design and operation of the Chashma Right Bank Canal

Irrigation systems / Irrigation canals / Flow control / Velocity / Canal regulation techniques / Hydraulics / Simulation models / Design / Operations / Crop-based irrigation / Distributary canals / Water delivery / Policy / Protective irrigation / Water allocation / Water requirements / Sedimentation / Water distribution / Equity / Water conveyance / Pakistan / Chashma Right Bank Canal

Uvođenje novog katetera u cistostomiji kliničkih slučajeva opstruktivne urolitijaze u goveda.

The present study was carried out to evaluate a simple innovative tube cystostomy technique for the management of bovine clinical cases of obstructive urolithiais. The materials of this study formed 20 clinical cases of obstructive urolithiasis, equally and randomly distributed in two groups. Diagnosis of the disease was made on the basis of a history of anuria, clinical signs, radiographic and ultrasonographic examinations. The confirmed cases of obstructive urolithiasis were managed by two surgical techniques, i.e., tube cystostomy with Foley’s catheter (group A) and tube cystostomy with simple polyvinyl chloride catheter tubing (group B). In all the animals litholytic agents, anti-infl ammatory drugs and antibiotics, along with urine acidifiers, were given. The surgical techniques were evaluated on the basis of clinical, haematobiochemical parameters, and postoperative surgical complications. Duration of surgery and overall success rate were also recorded in each group. Haematobiochemical alterations returned to normalcy more quickly in the animals of group A as compared to those of group B. The survival rate was similar in the animals of both the groups; however complications like catheter blockade were found more often in group A animals. Tube cystostomy with polyvinyl chloride tubing may be a feasible method for the management of obstructive urolithiasis in field conditions. It needs more refinement and further evaluation before its recommendation for in field use.Ovo istraživanje bilo je provedeno radi prosudbe vrijednosti novoga jednostavnoga postupka cistostomije pri obradi kliničkih slučajeva opstruktivne urolitijaze u goveda. Dvadeset goveda s klinički dokazanom opstruktivnom urolitijazom bilo je nasumce podijeljeno u dvije skupine po deset goveda. Dijagnoza je bila postavljena na osnovi podataka o anuriji, prisutnim kliničkim znakovima te na osnovi radiografske i ultrazvučne pretrage. Potvrđeni slučajevi opstruktivne urolitijaze bili su obrađeni dvama kirurškim postupcima: cistostomijom kod koje je bio rabljen Foleyev kateter (skupina A) i uporabom jednostavnoga polivinil-kloridnoga katetera (skupina B). Svima životinjama bile su primijenjene litolitičke tvari, protuupalni lijekovi, antibiotici i sredstva za zakiseljavanje mokraće. Kirurške tehnike bile su vrednovane na osnovi kliničkih, hematoloških i biokemijskih pokazatelja i postoperativnih kirurških komplikacija. Za svaku skupinu uzeto je u obzir trajanje operacije i njezina uspješnost. Promjene u hematološkim i biokemijskim pokazateljima brže su se vratile na normalne vrijednosti u životinja skupine A u odnosu na skupinu B. Stopa preživljavanja bila je slična u životinja obiju skupina. Međutim, komplikacije poput začepljenja katetera bile su češće u životinja skupine A. Cistostomija pri kojoj je rabljen polivinil-kloridni kateter lako je izvediva metoda za obradu opstruktivne urolitijaze u terenskim uvjetima. Ipak, prije preporuke za terensku uporabu nužno je njezino daljnje usavršavanje

Spontaneous resolution of nitrofurantoin-induced chronic pulmonary toxicity presenting with respiratory failure

Nitrofurantoin is one of the most common drugs implicated in drug-induced pulmonary toxicities, the manifestations of which range from dose-independent acute self-limiting reactions to chronic dose-dependent pathologies. The severity of these pulmonary adverse effects may range from trivial hypersensitivity reactions to extensive and irreversible lung fibrosis leading to respiratory failure and death. Symptomatic and supportive treatment in addition to discontinuation of the drug usually suffices for the management of mild reactions. Corticosteroids have been traditionally used to relieve the symptoms and hasten the resolution of pulmonary lesions in case of severe toxicities. However conclusive evidence in the form of controlled studies in favor of this routine use is lacking. We report a case of an elderly lady who presented to us in respiratory failure due to nitrofurantoin induced chronic lung disease. The patient’s symptoms and blood gas abnormalities resolved spontaneously over the course of 6 months after stopping the drug. Radiological lesions including those suggestive of apparently permanent fibrosis also resolved during this time. Corticosteroids, inhalational or systemic, were not used. Spontaneous normalization of clinico-radiological features in nitrofurantoin induced chronic lung disease presenting with respiratory failure has rarely been reported previously. The related literature is also reviewed

ASSESSMENT OF FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE REGARDING CHILD LABOR IN AGRICULTURE: A CASE STUDY OF COTTON GROWERS IN DISTRICT BAHAWALPUR

The work which affects the education, dignity and health of a child is known as child labor. It exists in agriculture sector of Pakistan mostly in the form of hazardous work. The main objective of the study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of cotton growers on child labor issue with special reference to Decent Work of International Labor Organization (ILO). The study was conducted in Bahawalpur district where Decent Work has been implemented by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Pakistan since 2013 as a part of its Sustainable Agriculture Program. Three categories of farmers were identified among a total of 388 selected cotton growers i.e. Farmers having high level of awareness, farmers having basic level of awareness and farmers having no awareness of child labor. Farmers were also categorized into three groups on the basis of their land holding i.e. (Category ‘a’) 1-7 acres, (b) >7-20 acres and (c) >20-50 acres. The data was analyzed through descriptive statistical method. Among category ‘a’ 7.5%, 88.7% and 3.7% of the farmers had advance, basic and no awareness, respectively. Among category ‘b’ 7.2%, 88.5% and4.2% farmers had advance, basic and no awareness, respectively. Among category ‘c’ 5.8%, 90.2% and 3.9% farmers had advance, basic and no awareness, respectively. Since there was a large proportion of those farmers who have only basic level of awareness on child labor among all the three land holding categories, therefore, there is a need to educate farmers on preventing child labor at their farms to promote sustainable cotton