An Analysis of Child Labor and its Subjective Well-being: Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study investigates the determinants of child labor, the factors that constitute the welfare of child labor, and the factors that determine the welfare of child labor by providing evidence from three major populated districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), namely, Mardan, Peshawar, and Swat. This employs a structured questionnaire methodology and collects data from 200 households in each district. The research further applies Probit model to estimate the determinants of child labor and finds that income level of household, household head’s employment, household head’s education, joint family structure, and residence in urban location reduces the likelihood of child labor. However, household’s head age, household’ size, debt, and economic shock increase the likelihood of child labor. Additionally, this study uses Rees Good Childhood index to measure and compare the welfare of child labor and non-child labor. The findings suggest that child labor has a lower welfare level as compared to non-child labor. Finally, the OLS technique is applied to estimate the determinants of the welfare of child labor. The findings suggest that the wage of child, safety measures at the workplace, leisure, age, and education promote the welfare of child labor. However, the number of working hours, abuse, and hazardous work, adversely affect welfare of child labor

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its relation to diet and physical work in Azad Jammu and Kashmir

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its relation to diet and physical work was studied in three selected districts namely Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Poonch of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. A city, a town and a village were selected from each selected district, and hundred households (families) from each city, town and village were randomly selected for the study. A total 900 households were selected for interview. A responsible individual of 40 years or older of each household was interviewed and information about diabetes, occupation and diet were recorded in the questionnaire. The mean prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 0.95% in the selected region of the state. The prevalence of the disease was higher in cities than towns and villages. The disease was slightly higher in males than females. The milk and meat consumption of the residents of the area was lower than the recommended amount. The exercise level/physical work status of majority of the residents was almost equal to heavy exercise level. The data suggest that at present, the prevalence of diabetes is not of great concern in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The prevalence of the disease is linked with diet and exercise level/physical work. The residents have marginal deficiency of food intake

Evaluation of serum alkaline phosphatase and calcium in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients at Lucknow, India

There is an increasing demand and requirement to develop new biomarkers for the early diagnosis and detection of diabetes mellitus (DM). The present study is designed to estimate serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and serum calcium levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. The serum alkaline phosphatase and calcium levels were estimated using commercially available kits on a semiautoanalyzer. The fasting blood sugar (FBS) of the subjects was measured by the glucose oxidase-peroxidase (GOD-POD) method using a commercially available kit. The level of ALP was found to be statistically significant in T2DM patients when compared with matched healthy individuals (p 0.001), whereas the association of serum calcium level was found to be non-significant (p = 0.07). Although there is a decrease in serum calcium level in T2DM patients when compared with healthy controls. It is concluded that the management of T2DM and its associated complications may require regular estimation of serum ALP and calcium levels. The estimations may also be significant in the management of osteoporosis in T2DM patients. High utilization of calcium and vitamin D especially from supplements may lower the risk of DM

Correlation of red cell distribution width with inflammatory markers and its prognostic value in patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease

Background. Recent studies have shown red blood cell distribution width (RDW) as a marker for severity and prognosis in coronary artery disease patients. Other studies have also correlated RDW with diabetes mellitus and inflammation. However, such correlation and prognosis in patients with concomitant coronary artery disease and diabetes after percutaneous intervention remains unclear. Material and methods. Our study group comprised of 730 subjects including 700 patients (cases) and 30 normal subjects (control group). Patients who presented with coronary artery disease were divided into diabetic and non-diabetic groups. All patients had RDW measured at admission and percutaneous intervention was done. Follow-up for adverse events was carried out between 6 to 12 months. Results. RDW was elevated in patients as compared to control group (p < 0.05). RDW correlated well with inflammatory markers including erythrocyte sedimen­tation rate, C-reactive protein, HbA1c, white blood cells and troponin. RDW was higher with more severe atherosclerosis based on SYNTAX and Gensini scores (p < 0.05). Prognosis was found to be worse in patients with high RDW as well as in diabetics. Conclusions. RDW has positive correlation with other inflammatory marker. It may be used as a marker in determining the severity and prognosis in diabetic patients with coronary artery disease

Association of Stress, Knowledge Management, and Change with Organizational Effectiveness in Education Sector of Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of organizational stress, knowledge management, and organizational change on organizational effectiveness. A valid questionnaire was distributed to administrative staff and faculty members of different educational institutes. 100 questionnaires were distributed in public and private educational sectors. 75 complete questionnaires were received at response rate of 75%. A non probability random sampling technique was used to select the sample. Pearson’s moment correlation and linear regression was applied to study the relationship between organizational stress, knowledge management, organizational change and organizational effectiveness. Results show significant relationship of factors and positive impact on organizational effectiveness. This research also discusses practical implicatios and research limitations.&nbsp

Association of central obesity with risk factors for cardiovascular disease in North Indian population: A case - control study

Background: Central obesity is a leading cause of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). Central obesity may act as an independent predictor for CVD. Aim and Objectives: To study the correlation of central obesity among obese patients with the risk factors for CVD. Material and Methods: In this case-control study, 50 non-obese and 50 obese subjects aged between 30-70 years were enrolled. Biochemical parameters: Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c), Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), High-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (HDL-C) and Low-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol (LDL-C) were estimated along with Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Circumference (WC). Value of p less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Mean of FBS, HbA1c, TC, TG, LDL-C, SBP, DBP, BMI, and WC were significantly raised in obese compared to non-obese (p<0.01). However, the mean of HDL-C was significantly low in obese compared to non-obese (p<0.01). A significant positive correlation was found between age and WC (r=0.426, p<0.01), TC and TG (r=0.628, p<0.01), TC and LDL-C (r=0.934, p<0.01), TG and LDL-C (r=0.647, p<0.01) among obese. However, a significant negative correlation was found between TC and HDL-C (r=-0.453, p<0.01), TG and HDL-C (r=-0.323, p<0.05), and HDL-C and LDL-C (r=-0.510, p<0.01) among obese. Linear regression analysis model was found significant. Conclusion: Result showed that WC is an independent predictive marker for CVD. Further study is needed in larger sample to strengthen the hypothesis

The Karachi intracranial stenosis study (KISS) Protocol: an urban multicenter case-control investigation reporting the clinical, radiologic and biochemical associations of intracranial stenosis in Pakistan.

Background: Intracranial stenosis is the most common cause of stroke among Asians. It has a poor prognosis with a high rate of recurrence. No effective medical or surgical treatment modality has been developed for the treatment of stroke due to intracranial stenosis. We aim to identify risk factors and biomarkers for intracranial stenosis and to develop techniques such as use of transcranial doppler to help diagnose intracranial stenosis in a cost-effective manner. Methods/Design: The Karachi Intracranial Stenosis Study (KISS) is a prospective, observational, case-control study to describe the clinical features and determine the risk factors of patients with stroke due to intracranial stenosis and compare them to those with stroke due to other etiologies as well as to unaffected individuals. We plan to recruit 200 patients with stroke due to intracranial stenosis and two control groups each of 150 matched individuals. The first set of controls will include patients with ischemic stroke that is due to other atherosclerotic mechanisms specifically lacunar and cardioembolic strokes. The second group will consist of stroke free individuals. Standardized interviews will be conducted to determine demographic, medical, social, and behavioral variables along with baseline medications. Mandatory procedures for inclusion in the study are clinical confirmation of stroke by a healthcare professional within 72 hours of onset, 12 lead electrocardiogram, and neuroimaging. In addition, lipid profile, serum glucose, creatinine and HbA1C will be measured in all participants. Ancillary tests will include carotid ultrasound, transcranial doppler and magnetic resonance or computed tomography angiogram to rule out concurrent carotid disease. Echocardiogram and other additional investigations will be performed at these centers at the discretion of the regional physicians. Discussion: The results of this study will help inform locally relevant clinical guidelines and effective public health and individual interventions

Fifteen new risk loci for coronary artery disease highlight arterial-wall-specific mechanisms

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although 58 genomic regions have been associated with CAD thus far, most of the heritability is unexplained, indicating that additional susceptibility loci await identification. An efficient discovery strategy may be larger-scale evaluation of promising associations suggested by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Hence, we genotyped 56,309 participants using a targeted gene array derived from earlier GWAS results and performed meta-analysis of results with 194,427 participants previously genotyped, totaling 88,192 CAD cases and 162,544 controls. We identified 25 new SNP-CAD associations (P &lt; 5 × 10(-8), in fixed-effects meta-analysis) from 15 genomic regions, including SNPs in or near genes involved in cellular adhesion, leukocyte migration and atherosclerosis (PECAM1, rs1867624), coagulation and inflammation (PROCR, rs867186 (p.Ser219Gly)) and vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation (LMOD1, rs2820315). Correlation of these regions with cell-type-specific gene expression and plasma protein levels sheds light on potential disease mechanisms

The Bangladesh Risk of Acute Vascular Events (BRAVE) Study: objectives and design.

During recent decades, Bangladesh has experienced a rapid epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases. Coronary heart disease (CHD), with myocardial infarction (MI) as its main manifestation, is a major cause of death in the country. However, there is limited reliable evidence about its determinants in this population. The Bangladesh Risk of Acute Vascular Events (BRAVE) study is an epidemiological bioresource established to examine environmental, genetic, lifestyle and biochemical determinants of CHD among the Bangladeshi population. By early 2015, the ongoing BRAVE study had recruited over 5000 confirmed first-ever MI cases, and over 5000 controls "frequency-matched" by age and sex. For each participant, information has been recorded on demographic factors, lifestyle, socioeconomic, clinical, and anthropometric characteristics. A 12-lead electrocardiogram has been recorded. Biological samples have been collected and stored, including extracted DNA, plasma, serum and whole blood. Additionally, for the 3000 cases and 3000 controls initially recruited, genotyping has been done using the CardioMetabochip+ and the Exome+ arrays. The mean age (standard deviation) of MI cases is 53 (10) years, with 88 % of cases being male and 46 % aged 50 years or younger. The median interval between reported onset of symptoms and hospital admission is 5 h. Initial analyses indicate that Bangladeshis are genetically distinct from major non-South Asian ethnicities, as well as distinct from other South Asian ethnicities. The BRAVE study is well-placed to serve as a powerful resource to investigate current and future hypotheses relating to environmental, biochemical and genetic causes of CHD in an important but under-studied South Asian population.The Gates Cambridge Trust has supported Dr Chowdhury. Epidemiological fieldwork in BRAVE has been supported by grants to investigators at the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. The Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit is underpinned by programme grants from the British Heart Foundation (RG/13/13/30194), the UK Medical Research Council (MR/L003120/1), and the UK National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. BRAVE has received support for genetic assays from the European Research Council (ERC-2010-AdG-20100317), European Commission Framework 7 (Grant Agreement number: 279233), and the Cambridge British Heart Foundation Centre for Excellence in Cardiovascular Science; We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals: Cardiology Research Group in Bangladesh Mohammad Afzalur Rahman, Mohammad Abdul Kader Akanda, M Atahar Ali, Mir Jamal Uddin, SM Siddiqur Rahman, Amal Kumar Choudhury, Md. Mamunur Rashid, Nazir Ahmed Chowdhury, Mohammad Abdullahel Baqui, Kajal Kumar Karmoker, Mohammad Golam Azam; Setting up/implementation of fieldwork in Bangladesh Abbas Bhuiya, Susmita Chowdhury, Kamrun Nahar, Neelima Das, Proshon Roy, Sumona Ferdous, Taposh Kumar Biswas, Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayed Sharif, Ranjit Shingha, Rose Jinnath Tomas, Babulal Parshei, Mabubur Rahman, Mohammad Emon Hossain, Akhirunnesa Mily, AK Mottashir Ahmed, Sati Chowdhury, Sushila Roy, Dipak Kanti Chowdhury, Swapan Kumar Roy; Epidemiological/statistical support in Cambridge Stephen Kaptoge, Simon Thompson, Angela Wood, Narinder Bansal, Anna Ramond, Clare Oliver-Williams, Marinka Steur, Linda O’Keeffe, Eleni Sofianopoulou, Setor Kunutsor, Donal Gorman, Oscar H Franco, Malcolm Legget, Pinal Patel, Marc Suhrcke, Sylvaine Bruggraber, Jonathan Powell; Data management Matthew Walker, Steve Ellis, Shawkat Jahangir, Habibur Rahman, Rifat Hasan Shammi, Shafqat Ullah, Mohammad Abdul Matin and Administration Beth Collins, Hannah Lombardi, Binder Kaur, Rachel Henry, Marilena Papanikolaou, Robert Smith, Abdul Wazed, Robert Williams, Julie Jenkins, Keith Hoddy.This is the final published version of the article. It was originally published in the European Journal of Epidemiology (Chowdhury R, et al., European Journal of Epidemiology, 2015, doi:10.1007/s10654-015-0037-2). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10654-015-0037-

Potential for comparative public opinion research in public administration

The public administration and public services have always taken a marginal place in the political scientists’ behavioural research. Public administration students on the other hand tend to focus on political and administrative elites and institutions, and largely ignored citizens in comparative research. In this article we make a plea for international comparative research on citizens’ attitudes towards the public administration from an interdisciplinary perspective. Available international survey material is discussed, and main trends in empirical practice and theoretical approaches are outlined, especially those with a potential impact on public sector reform