Tourism as a Significant Contributor to Economic Development: Evidence from South Asian Economies

Tourism has become the world vibrant sector with its multidimensional impacts on the economies especially for developing nations. Study in hand was conducted by taking data of four South Asian economies i.e. Pakistan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, which have good potential for the tourism due to their diverse geography, culture and traditions. Time series data set for the years 1985 to 2015 were employed for analysis. It was observed that all selected variables were stationary on the first difference. The study findings revealed that the number of international tourist arrival in India is greater as compare to other three selected countries. The results of long run co integration indicated that variable, number of tourist arrival has significant effect on the GDP of all countries. Overall results of the study validate the hypothesis that tourism has positive impact on the economic development of a country

Attitudes and opinions of dental practitioners towards the use of clinical photography in Srinagar: a cross sectional study

Background: Clinical photography has become a part of modern-day dental practice. It has been used for dento-legal documentation, diagnosis, clinical assessment, treatment planning, patient motivation, communication with the patient and laboratory, academic purposes and also for marketing. The aim of the study was to assess and determine the knowledge and the extent of the use of photography by dental practitioners of Srinagar city.Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving a questionnaire consisting of 10 questions was distributed among 88 randomly selected dental practitioners of Srinagar city, out of which 72 dental practitioners responded positively and returned the questionnaire. The data collected were computerized and analyzed statistically. The average values of the responses received by groups of questions were analyzed.Results: According to the survey conducted, 52(72.22%) dentists used photography for dental practice. Out of all the dentists surveyed, 63(87.5%) of the dentists knew about the importance of dental photography. It was observed that 40(55.55%) fresher dentists (<5 years’ experience) showed more positive attitude towards the application of photography in their dental practice. It was also revealed that the application of clinical photography among male dentists, dentists with <5 years’ experience and dentists who work with an assistant were significantly higher as compared to other dentists (p<0.05).Conclusions: Hence, from this study, majority of respondents (87.5%) were aware of the importance of dental photography. The reasons which prevented the dentist from using clinical photography were lack of time, expensive instruments, lack of interest and cross infection. Male practitioners were more likely than female practitioners to use clinical photography. Photographic training should hence be inculcated in the curriculum of dentistry. Also dental practitioners should actively participate in CDE programs on Clinical photography to improve the quality of dental practice

Hexa­kis­(N,N′-dimethyl­thio­urea-κS)nickel(II) nitrate

The title complex salt, [Ni(C3H8N2S)6](NO3)2, consists of an [Ni(Dmtu)6]2+ (Dmtu is N,N′-dimethyl­thio­urea) dication and two nitrate counter-anions. The NiII atom (site symmetry ) is coordinated by the S atoms of six Dmtu ligands within a slightly distorted octa­hedral environment. The crystal structure is characterized by weak intra­molecular N—H⋯S inter­actions and by inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the nitrate anion (site symmetry 3.). These inter­molecular inter­actions lead to the formation of two-dimensional networks lying parallel to the ab plane. The networks are linked via non-classical inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional arrangement

Comparison Of Maternal And Perinatal Outcome Of Isolated Borderline Amniotic Fluid Index Versus Normal Amniotic Fluid In Low-Risk Pregnancies At Term

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the maternal and perinatal outcomes in low-risk pregnancies having borderline Amniotic fluid index with normal amniotic fluid index at term. Methods: This prospective observational study, included 540 low-risk pregnant women admitted at POF Hospital Wah Cantt between 1st June 2020-31st Dec 2022. Group A had 180 women with borderline AFI having normal umbilical artery Doppler and group B had 360 women with normal AFI between 37-40 weeks, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data regarding baseline characteristics and fetomaternal outcome was collected on an already designed proforma and analysis was done by using SPSS version 23. Results: The difference in overall cesarean section rate (p=0.071) and cesarean section for fetal distress (p=0.076) was not statistically significant between the two groups. The borderline AFI did not increase the risk of meconium-stained liquor (p=0.116), 5minute APGAR score &lt;7 (p=0.218), admission to NICU (p=0.064) and low birth weight (mean birth weights p=0.278) compared to normal AFI. Conclusion: Borderline oligohydramnios does not increase the risk of cesarean section and cesarean section for fetal distress. There is no increase in the risk of meconium-stained liquor, 5-minute APGAR score&lt;7, admission to NICU and low birth weight. Keywords: Amniotic fluid index, borderline oligohydramnios, cesarean section, fetal distress, meconium-stained liquor.

Empirical Examination for Operational and Credit Risk Perspective – A Case of Commercial Banks of Pakistan

The objective of this study is to evaluate the factors that influence credit and operational risk in commercial banks. Financial data was collected from 11 commercial banks of Pakistan listed in Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) over the period of 2009-2014. Different statistical tools and techniques are applied to find the cause and effect relationship for the underconsideration issue.The banking sector have faced the rivalry with other financial institutions to grab the attention of the customers and having a considerable competition with other banks. The result has shown that operational risk had significant but negative relation with NPL and operating efficiency but positive and highly significant relationship with bank size. Credit risk had significant and positive regression values with gearing ratio. NPL, operating efficiency and bank size had negative and insignificant relation with credit risk. There was no relationship between gearing ratio and operational risk. However the bottomline of this research suggests that banks play an important role in providing the finance for many of the businesses. Moreover these institutions need more managerial grip and vigilant attitude towards the risk management

Hexa­kis­(thio­urea-κS)nickel(II) nitrate: a redetermination

A preliminary X-ray study of the title mol­ecular salt, [Ni(CH4N2S)6](NO3)2, has been reported twice previously, by Maďar [Acta Cryst. (1961), 14, 894] and Rodriguez, Cubero, Vega, Morente & Vazquez [Acta Cryst. (1961), 14, 1101], using film methods. We confirm the previous studies, but to modern standards of precision and with all H atoms located. The central Ni atom (site symmetry ) of the dication is octa­hedrally coordinated by six S-bound thio­urea mol­ecules. The crystal structure is stabilized by intra- and inter­molecular N—H⋯S and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Haplotype Analysis for DFNB4/PDS Locus in Hearing Impaired Families of Punjab (Pakistan)

Abstract: Deafness is one of the most common genetic disorders affecting 1 in 1000 newborns worldwide, while in Pakistan, its prevalence is 1.6/1000.The present study was conducted to map reported autosomal recessive deafness locus DFNB4/PDS in highly consanguineous families in Punjab. For this purpose families with deafness were identified . Blood samples of these families were studied for linkage analysis of common reported deafness locus DFNB4/PDS. Genomic DNA was isolated from the blood samples of these families. Linkage analysis was then performed by amplifying microsatellite markers through PCR, Genotyping was done by ABI PRISM ® 3730 Genetic Analyzer. The Deaf Family was found linked to microsatellite markers of DFNB4/PDS. Linkages analysis showed that all three affected were homozygous for three STR markers for DFNB4/PDS while individuals V: 3 was heterozygous i.e., is carrier for DFNB4. Therefore individuals V: 3 were phenotypically normal but genotypically he is carrier. As the ages of that affected individuals&apos; ranges from three years to seven years they might develop goiter at a later age. Therefore at present this family is linked to an overlapping nonsyndromic/ syndromic locus DFNB4/PDS

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Hijaz College : Students of Islamic Religious Sciences in Contemporary British society

Islam manifests itself in various forms and contexts. It is not merely to be understood as a static religion of theology, beliefs and practices but also as dynamic religion, implemented daily by Muslims in different contexts and frames. Since the rise of Islam in 610 C.E., Muslims have moved from the Arabic Peninsula throughout the world. On British soil, early settlements and the presence of Muslims has been evident since the 18th century. A gradual increase has since then taken place. Today the populations have become an integrated and visible part of British Society. Each Muslim community has its own traditions, ethnicity and conceptual thoughts; its own way of living and way of communicating religion. Hijaz College which is an Islamic institution situated in the suburb of Coventry, Nuneaton, is an example of such a community or Islamic institution that follows and communicates a tradition of religious living and comprehension. It is governed by well-educated Muslims that have a secular and Islamic-theological education. They strive to improve and communicate the potentials for Muslims in Western Europe through the medium of education and Islamic moral development. Consequently, this paper will analyse Hijaz College, one of the Islamic institutions in Great Britain, and the Muslim youth that study Islamic Religious Sciences along with secular studies at the college. As far as I am aware this paper is the first to examine Hijaz College independently. However, various generic researches on Islamic institutions have been carried out. This study concentrates primarily and comprehensively on Hijaz College and the viewpoints of four students that will be graduating as Islamic religious scholars within 1-3 years. They are all born in Europe and follow the Barelwi tradition of theology established on the Indian subcontinent