The Persistence and Transition of Rural Poverty in Pakistan: 1998-2004

This study has used two rounds of the two panel data sets to examine the poverty dynamics in rural Pakistan (Sindh and Punjab). The Pakistan Socio- Economic Survey (PSES ) covers two periods, 1998 and 2000, while the Pakistan Rural Household Survey (PRHS) covers the 2001 and 2004 period. More than one-fifth of the households were chronically poor in the PSES rounds , and 11 percent in the PRHS rounds. Further, both chronic and transitory poverty are higher in Sindh and southern Punjab than in centra l and northern Punjab. Illiteracy, household size, dependency ratio, lack of livestock, landlessness, lack of ownership of dwellings, and health expenditure are the factors responsible for aggravating long-term poverty. The higher incidence of transitory poverty in rural Sindh and southern Punjab indicates the impact of large investments made in the public sector to raise the living standards there to the level of the better-off regions.Poverty, Chronic Poverty, Household Panel Datasets, Rural Pakistan

Profiling of RNAs from Human Islet-Derived Exosomes in a Model of Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is characterized by the immune-mediated destruction of insulin-producing islet β cells. Biomarkers capable of identifying T1D risk and dissecting disease-related heterogeneity represent an unmet clinical need. Toward the goal of informing T1D biomarker strategies, we profiled coding and noncoding RNAs in human islet-derived exosomes and identified RNAs that were differentially expressed under proinflammatory cytokine stress conditions. Human pancreatic islets were obtained from cadaveric donors and treated with/without IL-1β and IFN-γ. Total RNA and small RNA sequencing were performed from islet-derived exosomes to identify mRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and small noncoding RNAs. RNAs with a fold change ≥1.3 and a p-value <0.05 were considered as differentially expressed. mRNAs and miRNAs represented the most abundant long and small RNA species, respectively. Each of the RNA species showed altered expression patterns with cytokine treatment, and differentially expressed RNAs were predicted to be involved in insulin secretion, calcium signaling, necrosis, and apoptosis. Taken together, our data identify RNAs that are dysregulated under cytokine stress in human islet-derived exosomes, providing a comprehensive catalog of protein coding and noncoding RNAs that may serve as potential circulating biomarkers in T1D

High-Temperature Friction and Wear Studies of Nimonic 80A and Nimonic 90 Against Nimonic 75 Under Dry Sliding Conditions

The present research focuses on dry sliding friction and wear behaviour of Nimonic 80A and Nimonic 90 against Nimonic 75 at high temperature up to 1023 K. The influence of temperature, sliding distance and normal load on friction and wear behaviour of Nimonic 80A and Nimonic 90 against Nimonic 75 was studied using pin (Nimonic 75)-on-disc (Nimonic 80A and Nimonic 90). Lower wear and lower friction of superalloys was observed at high temperatures, as compared to room temperature. Surface morphological and surface analytical studies of fresh and worn surfaces were carried out using optical microscopy, 3D profilometer, scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy to understand the friction and wear behaviour. The mechanism of the formation of microscale glaze layer is also discussed

Rural Poverty Dynamics in Pakistan: Evidence from Three Waves of the Panel Survey

Poverty analysis in developing countries including Pakistan has in general focused on poverty trends based on cross-sectional datasets, with very little attention being paid to dynamics—of transitory or chronic poverty. Transitory poor are those who move out or fall into poverty between two or more points of time whereas the chronic poor remain in the poverty trap for a significant period of their lives. The static measures of households’ standard of living do not necessarily provide a good insight into their likely stability over time. For instance, a high mobility into or out of poverty may suggest that a higher proportion of a population experiences poverty over time than what the cross-sectional data might show. 1 It also implies that a much smaller proportion of the population experiences chronic poverty contrary to the results of cross-sectional datasets in a particular year [Hossain and Bayes (2010)]. Thus, the analysis of poverty dynamics is important to uncover the true nature of wellbeing of population. Both the micro and macro level socio-demographic and economic factors are likely to affect poverty movements and intergenerational poverty transmission [Krishna (2011)]

Antibacterial activity studies of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes with Mannich base ligand

ABSTRACT. A Mannich base ligand (L) was prepared by reacting 2-mercaptobenzimidazole, diphenylamine and benzaldehyde. This ligand (L) was further used for the preparation of four metal complexes with Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions. The reactions were monitored by TLC. The synthesized compounds were structurally characterized using FTIR spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy, 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, ICP-OES/atomic absorption spectroscopy. It has been observed that the ligand (L) behaved in a monoanionic bidentate mode and the geometry of resulting complexes was tetrahedral. Conductivity analysis revealed their non-electrolytic nature. Antibacterial activity of the synthesized compounds was assessed through an agar well diffusion method against four strains of Gram-negative bacteria. L-Zn(II) complex showed best activity at all four concentrations against the four strains of Gram-negative bacteria.               KEY WORDS: Metal complexes, Mannich bases, 2-Mercaptobenzimidazole, Antibacterial activity Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(3), 485-492.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i3.

Welfare Impact of the Lady Health Workers Programme in Pakistan

With the year 2015 fast approaching, Pakistan is not likely to achieve most of the health targets set in the Millennium Development Goals [Pakistan (2010)]. High levels of child and maternal mortality and child malnutrition are among the major health challenges facing the country. Along with this enhanced vulnerability for children and women there is also an economic divide in the society because these health challenges are more profound for the poor segment of the population than for the better off. Another divide is between the rural and urban populations due to concentration of health facilities in urban centres of the country. The high cost of dealing with health issues adversely affects the poor and rural population, lowering their productivity and limiting their lifetime achievements. Without substantially improved health outcomes it is impossible to break out of the cycle of poverty [OECD (2003)]

Corneoscleral laceration and ocular burns caused by electronic cigarette explosions

PURPOSE: To report cases of acute globe rupture and bilateral corneal burns from electronic cigarette (EC) explosions. METHODS: Case series. RESULTS: We describe a series of patients with corneal injury caused by EC explosions. Both patients suffered bilateral corneal burns and decreased visual acuity, and one patient sustained a unilateral corneoscleral laceration with prolapsed iris tissue and hyphema. A review of the scientific literature revealed no prior reported cases of ocular injury secondary to EC explosions; however, multiple media and government agency articles describe fires and explosions involving ECs, including at least 4 with ocular injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Given these cases and the number of recent media reports, ECs pose a significant public health risk. Users should be warned regarding the possibility of severe injury, including sight-threatening ocular injuries ranging from corneal burns to full-thickness corneoscleral laceration

“Giant Colonic Bezoar”: A Medication Bezoar Due to Psyllium Seed Husks

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74894/1/j.1572-0241.1984.tb05167.x.pd

Biomarkers of β-Cell Stress and Death in Type 1 Diabetes

The hallmark of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a decline in functional β-cell mass arising as a result of autoimmunity. Immunomodulatory interventions at disease onset have resulted in partial stabilization of β-cell function, but full recovery of insulin secretion has remained elusive. Revised efforts have focused on disease prevention through interventions administered at earlier disease stages. To support this paradigm, there is a parallel effort ongoing to identify circulating biomarkers that have the potential to identify stress and death of the islet β-cells. Whereas no definitive biomarker(s) have been fully validated, several approaches hold promise that T1D can be reliably identified in the pre-symptomatic phase, such that either β-cell preservation or immunomodulatory agents might be employed in at-risk populations. This review summarizes the most promising protein- and nucleic acid-based biomarkers discovered to date and reviews the context in which they have been studied