Robustness of geography as an instrument to assess impact of climate change on agriculture

The empirical literature on climate change and agriculture does not adequately address the issue of potential endogeneity between climatic variables and agriculture which makes their estimates unreliable. This study is designed to investigate the relationships between climate change and agriculture and test the potential reverse causality and endogeneity of climatic variables to agriculture. This study introduces a geographical instrument, longitude and latitude, for temperature to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture by estimating regression using IV-2SLS method over annual panel data for 60 countries for the period 1999-2011. The Identification and F-statistic tests are used to choose and exclude the instrument. The inclusion of some control variables is supposed to reduce the omitted variable bias. The study finds a negative relationship between temperature and agriculture. Surprisingly the magnitude of the coefficient on temperature is mild, at least 20%, as compared to previous studies may be due to the use of the instrumental variable which is also supported by an alternative robust measure when estimated across different regions. The study provides strong implications for the policy makers to confront climate change that is an impending danger to agriculture. In designing effective policies and strategies policy makers should focus not only on crop production but also on other agricultural activities such as livestock production and fisheries, in addition to national and international socio-economic and geopolitical dynamics. This paper contributes to the growing literature in at least four aspects. First, empirical settings introduce an innovative geographical instrument, Second, it includes a wider set of control variables in the analysis. Third, improves over previous researches by using agriculture value addition and finally, the effects of temperature and precipitation on a single aggregate measure, agriculture value addition are separately investigated

Maritime Trade and Pakistan’s Merchant Marines

Being a maritime country, Pakistan is facing challenges and difficulties to take advantage of the resources of the ocean effectively. In the past, there is no strong footing and attentions have given to the maritime industry. Whereas the ocean trade has might become the backbone of Pakistan's economy. The Private and government shipping companies and the Maritime industry can boost the economic process of Pakistan. It is a need of time to pay attention to effective maritime policies and built the infrastructure for direct foreign investment. 80 % of Pakistan's trade volume is done through the ocean and a major part of this trade is through international shipping companies. New shipping business policies must be business-friendly. Provide opportunities to the Private and Public sectors both to explore the offshore resources. Provide facilitation to the tourism and hotel industry on the seashore can play a significant role in the maritime industry

Defining lung cancer stem cells exosomal payload of miRNAs in clinical perspective.

Since the first publication regarding the existence of stem cells in cancer [cancer stem cells (CSCs)] in 1994, many studies have been published providing in-depth information about their biology and function. This research has paved the way in terms of appreciating the role of CSCs in tumour aggressiveness, progression, recurrence and resistance to cancer therapy. Targeting CSCs for cancer therapy has still not progressed to a sufficient degree, particularly in terms of exploring the mechanism of dynamic interconversion between CSCs and non-CSCs. Besides the CSC scenario, the problem of cancer dissemination has been analyzed in-depth with the identification and isolation of microRNAs (miRs), which are now considered to be compelling molecular markers in the diagnosis and prognosis of tumours in general and specifically in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Paracrine release of miRs via \u201cexosomes\u201d (small membrane vesicles (30-100 nm), the derivation of which lies in the luminal membranes of multi-vesicular bodies) released by fusion with the cell membrane is gaining popularity. Whether exosomes play a significant role in maintaining a dynamic equilibrium state between CSCs and non-CSCs and their mechanism of activity is as yet unknown. Future studies on CSC-related exosomes will provide new perspectives for precision-targeted treatment strategies

Framework for optimizing chlorine dose in small- to medium-sized water distribution systems: A case of a residential neighbourhood in Lahore, Pakistan

To maintain desirable residual chlorine for a groundwater source, optimizing the chlorine dose in small- to medium-sized water distribution systems (SM-WDS) is a daunting task in developing countries. Mostly,  operators add a random chlorine dose without recognizing the smaller size of their distribution network.  In this research, a modelling framework for optimizing chlorine dose in SM-WDS is developed. In order to  evaluate its practicality, the proposed framework has been applied in a case study of a residential  neighbourhood in Lahore (Pakistan) with a small network spanning over 0.35 km2. Three datasets for residual chlorine were monitored at 6 locations spread over the study area. EPANET 2.0 software was  used for hydraulic and residual chorine modelling. The bulk decay coefficient (Kb) was determined in the  laboratory, whereas the wall decay coefficient (Kw) was estimated by calibrating the simulation results  with the residual chlorine determined in the field. Based on the calibrated EPANET simulations, a fuzzy  rule-based model was developed for pragmatic application of the proposed framework. Scenario analyses for different situations have also been carried out for achieving residual chlorine required at the consumer end. This exercise revealed that much lower chlorine doses than the existing practice can generate detectable chlorine residuals. Moreover, the model can be used to deal with emergency situations, which may arise in developing countries due to viral outbreaks and cross-contamination events in SM-WDS.Keywords: small- to- medium-sized water distribution systems, residual chlorine modelling, water  quality, chlorine decay coefficients, fuzzy rule-based modelling, EPANE

Diagnostic Value of Immature-to-Total Neutrophil Ratio in Neonatal Sepsis

Background: Neonatal sepsis is the third most common reason of neonatal mortality in Pakistan. Blood culture, the gold standard test for diagnosis of neonatal sepsis, is time consuming. Therefore, rapid diagnostic tests with good specificity and sensitivity is needed for accurate and early diagnosis of this condition. The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of abnormal (≥ 0.2) immature-to-total-neutrophil ratio in neonatal sepsis.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 288 neonates, aged 0-28 days, admitted with suspected sepsis. Detailed history of the neonates was recorded including gender, age, birth weight, maternal age, gestational age and clinical features. Blood culture and Peripheral blood films were done in each case. Differential leucocyte counts, total Polymorphoneutrophil count (PMN), immature neutrophil count, mature neutrophil count and calculation of I/T ratio was carried out in the Pathology Department of PIMS, Islamabad. The study outcome was divided into three groups on the basis of positive or negative blood culture and I/T ratio as normal, probable sepsis and proven sepsis group. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 21.0. Diagnostic value of I/T ratio was determined in NS by calculating values of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) by considering the blood culture as the gold standard test of NS.Results: The mean age and weight of the neonates at the time of admission was 1.1 (± 0.6) days and 2.51 (± 0.40) kg, respectively. About 60% of the neonates were males and 118(41%) neonates had I/T ratio of ≥ 0.2. On the basis of positive or negative blood culture and I/T ratio, 82 (28.5%) neonates were diagnosed as proven sepsis, 43 (14.9%) neonates had probable sepsis and remaining 163 (56.6%) neonates were declared as normal. Out of 82 neonates with positive blood cultures, 75 (91.5%) had I/T ratio ≥ 0.2, while 7 (8.5%) had I/T ratio ≤ 0.2. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of abnormal I/T ratio to diagnose neonatal sepsis was 91%, 79%, 64%, 96% and 83%, respectively.Conclusions: Due to substantially high diagnostic accuracy of I/T ratio ≥ 0.2, we recommend it as a useful, rapid and cost-effective tool in accurate diagnosis of neonatal sepsis

Proposed Model for Wastewater Treatment in Lahore using Constructed Wetlands

In developing countries, huge quantities of wastewater are disposed into water bodies without any treatment. Process complexity, high energy consumption, and high capital and operational costs have made the conventional treatment methods difficult to adopt in these countries. Lack of trained and skilled personnel to operate these highly sophisticated and complex systems is also a key problem associated with the conventional treatment methods. Constructed wetlands (CW) are engineered systems that have been designed and constructed to utilize the natural processes involving wetland vegetation, soils and the associated microbial assemblages to assist in treating wastewaters. It is a low cost and energy efficient option for a country like Pakistan which faces increased power shortages-an essential requirement for the majority of treatment methods. Therefore, its application for the treatment of wastewater of Lahore city was investigated in this study. A local plant, Reed (Phragmites) was evaluated for its potential use in constructed wetland. A lab scale wetland (using an earth pot) was used with reed as vegetation. Removal efficiency of the system was evaluated at different detention times ranging from 1-5 days. The results demonstrated 90% removal for TSS, 75% removal for BOD and 80% removal for COD at 5 days detention time. The mean effluent concentration of 10 mg/L, 40 mg/L and 68 mg/L for TSS, BOD and COD, respectively was obtained at 5-days detention period, thus complying with effluent standards of Pakistan. The results of the study support the suitability of CW for Lahore and also motivate for detailed pilot plant studies

Cancer stem cells and their microenvironment.

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Management of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) by combinatorial approach using alpha-1-adrenergic antagonists and 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors.

Currently, the main available treatments for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) are alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonists (ARAs), 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-αRI), anticholinergics, and Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. Recent studies support the combined therapy approach using ARAs with 5-αRI for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in BPH patients at risk of clinical progression. We aimed to review BPH management in select group of randomized controlled trials by combination therapy with ARAs and 5-αRIs compared to monotherapy with either drug with respect to the safety and efficacy. A total of 6 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving comparison of combination therapy with monotherapy using ARAs and 5-αRIs were retrieved from PubMed Central and reviewed for international prostate symptom score (IPSS), quality of life (QoL), post-residual urinary flow rate (PUF), and clinical progression. The results significantly favour the treatment group that received the combination therapy in comparison with the groups receiving monotherapy. However, outcome with regard to prostate volume showed insignificant improvement when the combination therapy is compared with 5- αRIs alone, rather than ARAs. In conclusion, combination therapy using ARAs and 5-αRI is better than monotherapy in the patients of BPH. Fixed dose combination (FDC), a type of combination, is also cost-effective and its sideeffects profile resembles to that of monotherapy