Phillips Curve or Locus Critique: Time Series Evidence from Pakistan

Some economic problems facing by any economy are addressed such that minimum levels of these are acceptable. Inflation and unemployment are among such macroeconomic issues of which certain minimum level of both are accepted by economists. Nature of relationship between unemployment and inflation is important in economic literature. This study was performed to find this nature for a developing country. Time series data on both variables was analyzed for Pakistan from 1974 to 2010. ADF test was applied for detection of non-stationary. Problem of non-stationary was detected when variables were at level, which was eliminated by taking variables at first difference. Johansen co-integration confirmed one cointegration vector, which suggested the presence of long run relation between variables. VECM was used to find short and long run estimates. A short run relation was witnessed when unemployment worked as dependent variable and inflation as explanatory variable. This model was in equilibrium and thirty five percent disequilibria were adjusted annually as ECT value suggested. Inflation had a significant positive association with unemployment in study period. This study supported the Locus critique as opposed to Phillips curve hypothesis. Policy makers should pay special attention to this relationship between inflation and unemployment when they are going to design macroeconomic policies for Pakistan’s economy

Giant juvenile ossifying fibroma from diagnosis to management: A rare case

Juvenile aggressive ossifying fibroma is a rare, benign tumor of the maxillofacial region that is aggressive and recurrent leading to multiple surgeries causing maxillofacial defect and deformities. The management of patients with ossifying fibroma is controversial.  The aim was to report a case of huge ossifying fibroma involving maxilla, zygoma, and orbit in a young female with a duration of 15 years. The patient was operated multiple times but the lesion recurred. Patient-specific implant was fabricated to replace the defect area which would be created after surgery but with meticulous intraoperative decision the high morbid surgery was changed to conservative surgery. No recurrence was seen after two year follow up. The patient aesthetic has also improved. In conclusion it can be said in huge benign ossifying fibroma morbid surgery should be avoided

Determination of risk factors for hepatitis B and C in male patients suffering from chronic hepatitis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis B and C is common in Pakistan and various risk factors are attributable to its spread.</p> <p>One thousand and fifty consecutive male cases suffering from chronic liver disease (327 HBV and 723 HCV) were selected from the OPD of public sector hospital and a private clinic dealing exclusively with the liver patients. To compare the results 723 age and gender matched controls were selected from the blood transfusion services of the public sector hospital. A standard questionnaire was filled for all patients and controls which included the information on possible risk factors.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Family history of liver disease was significantly higher (43% and 34%) in HBV and HCV positive cases as compared to 5% in controls [odds ratio 15.6; 95% Confidence Interval CI: 10.1 -- 24.1, 10.9; 95% Confidence Interval CI: 7.3 -- 16.4] and same trend was seen for death due to liver disease in the family. Majority 74% hepatitis B positive cases had their shaves done at communal barbers but this practice was equally prevalent amongst controls (68%), thus negating it as a possible risk factor, but there is a significant risk with p < 0.05 associated with HCV in male that get their shave in barber. Very strong association of the disease was found with history of dental treatment (38% HCV 36% HBV and 21% controls) [Odd ratio 2.3; 95% CI: 1.8-3.0, Odd ratio 2.1; 95% CI: 1.5-2.8], surgery (23% HCV cases,14% HBV cases and 12% controls), history of blood transfusion was significantly higher in HCV (6%) as compared to controls (2.1%) [Odd ratio 2.9; 95% CI: 1.5-5.5]. History of taking injections for various ailments by the general practitioners (over 90% patients in both hepatitis B and C cases) was significantly higher as compared to 75% in controls [Odds ratio 3.8, 6.9; 95% CI: 2.4-6.1, 4.5-10.4] but hospitalization was not significant in HBV and HCV cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Injections, surgery and dental treatment appear as major risk factors for the transmission of hepatitis B and C in the community. Massive health care awareness drives need to be done for both health care providers and the public to reduce this menace.</p

Changes in the prevalence of hepatitis B and C viral infections in Sindh province, Pakistan: Findings from two sero‐surveys in 2007 and 2019

Pakistan harbours a large burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We utilised repeat sero‐surveys to assess progress achieved towards hepatitis elimination in Pakistan. Multilevel logistic regression evaluated the change in HBV infection (HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)‐positive) prevalence and HCV exposure (HCV antibody (HCV‐Ab)‐positive) prevalence between two sero‐surveys from 2007 and 2019 for Sindh province and associated risk factors. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were estimated and population‐attributable fractions (PAF) for modifiable risk factors for HCV exposure. The 2007 and 2019 surveys included 8855 and 6672 individuals. HBsAg prevalence decreased from 2.6% (95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 2.2–2.9) in 2007 to 1.1% (95% CI: 0.8–1.3) in 2019, while HCV‐Ab prevalence increased from 5.1% (95% CI: 4.6%–5.5%) to 6.2% (95% CI: 5.6%–6.8%). The age and gender‐adjusted HBsAg prevalence decreased by 80% (aOR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1–0.4) among children and 60% (aOR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3–0.6) among adults over 2007–2019, while HCV‐Ab prevalence decreased by 60% (aOR = 0.4, 95%CI:0.2–0.7) in children and increased by 40% (aOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2–1.7) in adults. HCV‐Ab prevalence was lower in adults with secondary (aOR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.5–0.8) and higher (aOR = 0.5, 95%CI:0.3–0.8) education compared to illiterates and higher among adults reporting blood transfusion (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2–2.4), family history of hepatitis (aOR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.9–3.3), past year medical injection (aOR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.6–2.7), being tattooed (aOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0–1.9) and shaved by traditional barber (aOR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0–1.5). Modifiable risk factors accounted for 45% of HCV exposure, with medical injection(s) accounting for 38% (95%CI,25.7–48.4%). Overall HCV has increased over 2007–2019 in Sindh province, while HBV prevalence has decreased. Medical injections should be an important focus of prevention activities

Ramifications of varying banking regulations on performance of Islamic Banks

Recent financial crises have highlighted the importance of banking regulations to hedge against the high risk accredited to imbalances in banks' balance sheets. Nonetheless, banking regulations may have adverse effects. On the one hand, they serve as prudential measures that alleviate the effects of crises on the stability of the banking system while on the other hand; they may increase the cost of intermediation and reduce banks' profitability. Implementation of non-suitable regulations such as Islamic banks adopting conventional banks regulations could also impair banks' performance. This paper analyses the linkages between bank regulatory and supervisory structures associated with Basel III's pillars has any significant impact on Islamic banks' performance in Asia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) using two-step Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) technique. Findings suggest that regulatory variables are positively significant with Islamic banks' performance in Asian region but not in the GCC

In Silico Prediction and Analysis of Caenorhabditis EF-hand Containing Proteins

Calcium (Ca+2) is a ubiquitous messenger in eukaryotes including Caenorhabditis. Ca+2-mediated signalling processes are usually carried out through well characterized proteins like calmodulin (CaM) and other Ca+2 binding proteins (CaBP). These proteins interact with different targets and activate it by bringing conformational changes. Majority of the EF-hand proteins in Caenorhabditis contain Ca+2 binding motifs. Here, we have performed homology modelling of CaM-like proteins using the crystal structure of Drosophila melanogaster CaM as a template. Molecular docking was applied to explore the binding mechanism of CaM-like proteins and IQ1 motif which is a ∼25 residues and conform to the consensus sequence (I, L, V)QXXXRXXXX(R,K) to serve as a binding site for different EF hand proteins. We made an attempt to identify all the EF-hand (a helix-loop-helix structure characterized by a 12 residues loop sequence involved in metal coordination) containing proteins and their Ca+2 binding affinity in Caenorhabditis by analysing the complete genome sequence. Docking studies revealed that F165, F169, L29, E33, F44, L57, M61, M96, M97, M108, G65, V115, F93, N104, E144 of CaM-like protein is involved in the interaction with IQ1 motif. A maximum of 170 EF-hand proteins and 39 non-EF-hand proteins with Ca+2/metal binding motif were identified. Diverse proteins including enzyme, transcription, translation and large number of unknown proteins have one or more putative EF-hands. Phylogenetic analysis revealed seven major classes/groups that contain some families of proteins. Various domains that we identified in the EF-hand proteins (uncharacterized) would help in elucidating their functions. It is the first report of its kind where calcium binding loop sequences of EF-hand proteins were analyzed to decipher their calcium affinities. Variation in Ca+2-binding affinity of EF-hand CaBP could be further used to study the behaviour of these proteins. Our analyses postulated that Ca+2 is likely to be key player in Caenorhabditis cell signalling

Burden of musculoskeletal disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2013: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

Moradi-Lakeh M, Forouzanfar MH, Vollset SE, et al. Burden of musculoskeletal disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2013: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2017;76(8):annrheumdis-2016-210146

Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Mokdad AH, El Bcheraoui C, Afshin A, et al. Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. 2018;63(Suppl. 1):165-176.We used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 study results to explore the burden of high body mass index (BMI) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children (2-19 years) and adults (20 years) in 1980 and 2015. The burden of disease related to high BMI was calculated using the GBD comparative risk assessment approach. The prevalence of obesity increased for adults from 15.1% (95% UI 13.4-16.9) in 1980 to 20.7% (95% UI 18.8-22.8) in 2015. It increased from 4.1% (95% UI 2.9-5.5) to 4.9% (95% UI 3.6-6.4) for the same period among children. In 2015, there were 417,115 deaths and 14,448,548 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high BMI in EMR, which constitute about 10 and 6.3% of total deaths and DALYs, respectively, for all ages. This is the first study to estimate trends in obesity burden for the EMR from 1980 to 2015. We call for EMR countries to invest more resources in prevention and health promotion efforts to reduce this burden

The global, regional, and national burden of stomach cancer in 195 countries, 1990-2017 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study 2017

Background: Stomach cancer is a major health problem in many countries. Understanding the current burden of stomach cancer and the differential trends across various locations is essential for formulating effective preventive strategies. We report on the incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to stomach cancer in 195 countries and territories from 21 regions between 1990 and 2017. Methods: Estimates from GBD 2017 were used to analyse the incidence, mortality, and DALYs due to stomach cancer at the global, regional, and national levels. The rates were standardised to the GBD world population and reported per 100 000 population as age-standardised incidence rates, age-standardised death rates, and age-standardised DALY rates. All estimates were generated with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Findings: In 2017, more than 1·22 million (95% UI 1·19–1·25) incident cases of stomach cancer occurred worldwide, and nearly 865 000 people (848 000–885 000) died of stomach cancer, contributing to 19·1 million (18·7–19·6) DALYs. The highest age-standardised incidence rates in 2017 were seen in the high-income Asia Pacific (29·5, 28·2–31·0 per 100 000 population) and east Asia (28·6, 27·3–30·0 per 100 000 population) regions, with nearly half of the global incident cases occurring in China. Compared with 1990, in 2017 more than 356 000 more incident cases of stomach cancer were estimated, leading to nearly 96 000 more deaths. Despite the increase in absolute numbers, the worldwide age-standardised rates of stomach cancer (incidence, deaths, and DALYs) have declined since 1990. The drop in the disease burden was associated with improved Socio-demographic Index. Globally, 38·2% (21·1–57·8) of the age-standardised DALYs were attributable to high-sodium diet in both sexes combined, and 24·5% (20·0–28·9) of the age-standardised DALYs were attributable to smoking in males. Interpretation: Our findings provide insight into the changing burden of stomach cancer, which is useful in planning local strategies and monitoring their progress. To this end, specific local strategies should be tailored to each country's risk factor profile. Beyond the current decline in age-standardised incidence and death rates, a decrease in the absolute number of cases and deaths will be possible if the burden in east Asia, where currently almost half of the incident cases and deaths occur, is further reduced. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Maternal mortality and morbidity burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region : findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Assessing the burden of maternal mortality is important for tracking progress and identifying public health gaps. This paper provides an overview of the burden of maternal mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by underlying cause and age from 1990 to 2015. We used the results of the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study to explore maternal mortality in the EMR countries. The maternal mortality ratio in the EMR decreased 16.3% from 283 (241-328) maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 237 (188-293) in 2015. Maternal mortality ratio was strongly correlated with socio-demographic status, where the lowest-income countries contributed the most to the burden of maternal mortality in the region. Progress in reducing maternal mortality in the EMR has accelerated in the past 15 years, but the burden remains high. Coordinated and rigorous efforts are needed to make sure that adequate and timely services and interventions are available for women at each stage of reproductive life