Monetary and fiscal policies coordination - Pakistan's experience

The paper explores how the monetary and fiscal policies have coordinated with each other in Pakistan. It argues that monetary and fiscal policies have been executed independently throughout the study period that is 1964-65 to 2008-09 and there have been very few instances of coordination between the two policies while addressing prevailing economic conditions. The paper does not find any difference between the behavior of monetary and fiscal policies before and after the establishment of Monetary and Fiscal Policies Coordination Board in 1994. Whatever instances of coordination were found were clustered in military regimes; which may be one of the reasons of macroeconomic stability in such regimes.Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy,

Monetary and fiscal policies coordination - Pakistan's experience

The paper explores how the monetary and fiscal policies have coordinated with each other in Pakistan. It argues that monetary and fiscal policies have been executed independently throughout the study period that is 1964-65 to 2008-09 and there have been very few instances of coordination between the two policies while addressing prevailing economic conditions. The paper does not find any difference between the behavior of monetary and fiscal policies before and after the establishment of Monetary and Fiscal Policies Coordination Board in 1994. Whatever instances of coordination were found were clustered in military regimes; which may be one of the reasons of macroeconomic stability in such regimes

Monetary and fiscal policies coordination - Pakistan's experience

The paper explores how the monetary and fiscal policies have coordinated with each other in Pakistan. It argues that monetary and fiscal policies have been executed independently throughout the study period that is 1964-65 to 2008-09 and there have been very few instances of coordination between the two policies while addressing prevailing economic conditions. The paper does not find any difference between the behavior of monetary and fiscal policies before and after the establishment of Monetary and Fiscal Policies Coordination Board in 1994. Whatever instances of coordination were found were clustered in military regimes; which may be one of the reasons of macroeconomic stability in such regimes

Inflation Forecasting in Pakistan using Artificial Neural Networks

An artificial neural network (hence after, ANN) is an information processing paradigm that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, process information. In previous two decades, ANN applications in economics and finance; for such tasks as pattern reorganization, and time series forecasting, have dramatically increased. Many central banks use forecasting models based on ANN methodology for predicting various macroeconomic indicators, like inflation, GDP Growth and currency in circulation etc. In this paper, we have attempted to forecast monthly YoY inflation for Pakistan by using ANN for FY08 on the basis of monthly data of July 1993 to June 2007. We also compare the forecast performance of the ANN model with conventional univariate time series forecasting models such as AR(1) and ARIMA based models and observed that RMSE of ANN based forecasts is much less than the RMSE of forecasts based on AR(1) and ARIMA models. At least by this criterion forecast based on ANN are more precise

Inflation Forecasting in Pakistan using Artificial Neural Networks

An artificial neural network (hence after, ANN) is an information processing paradigm that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, process information. In previous two decades, ANN applications in economics and finance; for such tasks as pattern reorganization, and time series forecasting, have dramatically increased. Many central banks use forecasting models based on ANN methodology for predicting various macroeconomic indicators, like inflation, GDP Growth and currency in circulation etc. In this paper, we have attempted to forecast monthly YoY inflation for Pakistan by using ANN for FY08 on the basis of monthly data of July 1993 to June 2007. We also compare the forecast performance of the ANN model with conventional univariate time series forecasting models such as AR(1) and ARIMA based models and observed that RMSE of ANN based forecasts is much less than the RMSE of forecasts based on AR(1) and ARIMA models. At least by this criterion forecast based on ANN are more precise

Frequency of Clinical Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Asthmatic Patients

Background: Gastroesophageal reflex is known as an acid reflex, is long term condition where stomach contents back into the oesophagus resulting in either symptoms or complications. GERD disease is caused by weakness or failure of the lower oesophageal sphincter. Symptoms include the acidic taste behind the mouth, heart burn, chest pain, difficult breathing and vomiting. Complication includes esophagitis, oesophageal strictures and barrettes oesophagus. Objective: The aim of this research was to introduce the symptoms of GERD disease in asthmatic patients and how these symptoms worsen the symptoms of asthma disease and what clinical pictures present with the asthmatic disease. Methodology: A designed performa was used to collect the data and after filling the performa, results were drawn and conclusion through the facts and the information given by patients. Results: In the present study among all 164 asthmatic patients, 70 (42.7%) patients showed dyspepsia, 58 (35.4%) were with chest burning, 23 (14%) were asking about chest pain, with acidic mouth taste were 39 (23.8%), 22 (13.4%) were feeling sore throat and 44 (26.8%) showed regurgitation reflex. Among these 164 patients 16 (9.8%) were smokers and 148 (90.2 %) were non-smokers. 47 (28.7%) were males and 117 (71.3%) were females. Conclusion: It is concluded that gastroesophageal reflux disease in asthmatic patients present symptoms of acidic mouth taste, chest burning, chest pain, dyspepsia, regurgitation reflex and sore throat

Immobilization of Rose Waste Biomass for Uptake of Pb(II) from Aqueous Solutions

Rosa centifolia and Rosa gruss an teplitz distillation waste biomass was immobilized using sodium alginate for Pb(II) uptake from aqueous solutions under varied experimental conditions. The maximum Pb(II) adsorption occurred at pH 5. Immobilized rose waste biomasses were modified physically and chemically to enhance Pb(II) removal. The Langmuir sorption isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models fitted well to the adsorption data of Pb(II) by immobilized Rosa centifolia and Rosa gruss an teplitz. The adsorbed metal is recovered by treating immobilized biomass with different chemical reagents (H2SO4, HCl and H3PO4) and maximum Pb(II) recovered when treated with sulphuric acid (95.67%). The presence of cometals Na, Ca(II), Al(III), Cr(III), Cr(VI), and Cu(II), reduced Pb(II) adsorption on Rosa centifolia and Rosa gruss an teplitz waste biomass. It can be concluded from the results of the present study that rose waste can be effectively used for the uptake of Pb(II) from aqueous streams

Development of ANN optimized mucoadhesive buccal tablet containing flurbiprofen and lidocaine for dental pain

A novel mucoadhesive buccal tablet containing flurbiprofen (FLB) and lidocaine HCl (LID) was prepared to relieve dental pain. Tablet formulations (F1-F9) were prepared using variable quantities of mucoadhesive agents, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and sodium alginate (SA). The formulations were evaluated for their physicochemical properties, mucoadhesive strength and mucoadhesion time, swellability index and in vitro release of active agents. Release of both drugs depended on the relative ratio of HPMC:SA. However, mucoadhesive strength and mucoadhesion time were better in formulations, containing higher proportions of HPMC compared to SA. An artificial neural network (ANN) approach was applied to optimise formulations based on known effective parameters (i.e., mucoadhesive strength, mucoadhesion time and drug release), which proved valuable. This study indicates that an effective buccal tablet formulation of flurbiprofen and lidocaine can be prepared via an optimized ANN approach

4-Hydroxy­benzohydrazide

In the title compound, C7H8N2O2, the mean planes of the benzene ring and the planar hydrazide group are inclined at 25.75 (6)° with respect to each other. The structure is stabilized by inter­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds

Physical activity, smoking, and genetic predisposition to obesity in people from Pakistan:the PROMIS study

Background: Multiple genetic variants have been reliably associated with obesity-related traits in Europeans, but little is known about their associations and interactions with lifestyle factors in South Asians. Methods: In 16,157 Pakistani adults (8232 controls; 7925 diagnosed with myocardial infarction [MI]) enrolled in the PROMIS Study, we tested whether: a) BMI-associated loci, individually or in aggregate (as a genetic risk score - GRS), are associated with BMI; b) physical activity and smoking modify the association of these loci with BMI. Analyses were adjusted for age, age(2), sex, MI (yes/no), and population substructure. Results: Of 95 SNPs studied here, 73 showed directionally consistent effects on BMI as reported in Europeans. Each additional BMI-raising allele of the GRS was associated with 0.04 (SE = 0.01) kg/m(2) higher BMI (P = 4.5 x 10(-14)). We observed nominal evidence of interactions of CLIP1 rs11583200 (P-interaction = 0.014), CADM2 rs13078960 (P-interaction = 0.037) and GALNT10 rs7715256 (P-interaction = 0.048) with physical activity, and PTBP2 rs11165643 (P-interaction = 0.045), HIP1 rs1167827 (P-interaction = 0.015), C6orf106 rs205262 (P-interaction = 0.032) and GRID1 rs7899106 (P-interaction = 0.043) with smoking on BMI. Conclusions: Most BMI-associated loci have directionally consistent effects on BMI in Pakistanis and Europeans. There were suggestive interactions of established BMI-related SNPs with smoking or physical activity