ALUATION OF MUTUAL FUNDS AND SELECTION ABILITIES OF FUND MANAGERS IN PAKISTAN

Mutual funds are decent tools to encourage savings andinvestments, especially in developing nations like Pakistan whichrely heavily on foreign aids. This study explores the mutual fundperformance in Pakistan by using seven different performancemeasures, i.e. Sharpe, Treynor, Sortino, Information, Jensen Alpha,M2/RAP, Fama decomposition measures. This study covers a periodranging from July 2005 to June 2013 and includes 27 mutual fundschemes out of which 20 funds are open ended while 07 funds areclosed ended. Results prove underperformance on the part of all themutual funds and the whole industry was found weak on the part ofthe selection abilities of the fund managers and the portfolios werefound less diversified. However, it was noticed that closed ended fundsare better performers as compared to the open ended funds. Resultswere also inconsistent for the performance of individual funds asnone of the funds had the same rankings with respect to all the measuresused

The Public Libraries Perspective in Pakistan: A Study on Empirical Problems

Purpose: This study examined the problems faced by the public of Pakistan. It also analyzed the demographic information of the libraries and further reviewed the designation, qualifications, and professional experience of the heads/in-charge of public libraries. Research Methodology: The census-based survey was conducted, and data was collected from the 119 public libraries through the structured questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version-23) and both descriptive and inferential stats were applied to analyze the data and interpret the results. Key Findings: The heads of 91 libraries were LIS professionals, while 28 libraries were run by non-professional staff. The major problems identified were lack of training opportunities, limited human resources, insufficient IT & LIS professional staff, limited electronic resources, interrupted power supply, limited information resources, lack of commitment from the upper management and lack of financial resources. It was also observed that public libraries in Balochistan faced more problems than libraries of other provinces. Practical Implications: The findings of the study are useful for policymakers and managers of public libraries. Major points to be considered include a) more posts of professional staff should be created and appointed; b) the existing libraries need to be upgraded, and new and well-equipped public libraries should be established at district and tehsil levels to meet the people\u27s information and recreation needs

The potential and role of breast tumour kinase(Brk) isoforms in breast cancer therapeutics

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonBreast tumour kinase (Brk)/PTK6 is over-expressed in 80% of all breast cancers and has shown to be involved in tumour development and progression of breast cancer. There is a lack of development of breast tumour kinase (Brk) inhibitors and, therefore the clinical benefits associated with Brk inhibition are unknown. Due to Brk’s known role in proliferation and cell death, it was hypothesised that it may modulate responses to common breast cancer therapies. ALT-PTK6 is an alternatively spliced isoform of Brk and may act as a competitive inhibitor of the full-length form. Little is known regarding ALT-PTK6’s role in breast cancer therapeutics. I hypothesised ALT-PTK6 may negatively regulate cell proliferation within breast cancer cell lines and thus reduce the oncogenic functions of the full-length form. Initially, in vitro studies using multiple breast cancer cell showed survival at 2Gy radiation dose (SF2) correlated with Brk expression levels for some cell lines, with high SF2 survival there was also higher Brk expression. DNA repair kinetics and Brk interaction with ataxia telangiectasia mutated protein (ATM) showed no significant differences in relation to Brk expression. Brk modulates response to: Paclitaxel (Taxol), Doxorubicin, Lapatinib, Tamoxifen and showed significant reduction in cell proliferation in combination with a novel Brk inhibitor (Compound 4f) suggesting potential for a Brk targeted therapy. It was hypothesised that due to the proposed role of ALT-PTK6 as a negative regulator of Brk, ALT-PTK6/PTK6 transcript ratios will be lower in breast cancer cells and tissues. There were increased ALT-PTK6 to PTK6 transcript ratios in non-cancerous cell lines, hormone (ER/PR) positive and HER2 positive breast cancer cell lines compared to hormone negative cell lines. ALT-PTK6/PTK6 ratioswere increased in patients with improved overall survival. Thus, there is potential for ALT-PTK6/PTK6 ratios as a prognostic factor for long term overall survival in breast cancer patients

Outcome of percutaneous screw fixation of posterior pelvic ring injuries

Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcome of percutaneous fixation for unstable pelvic ring injury.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at orthopaedics section of Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, Pakistan from July 2015 to December 2018. Data was retrieved from trauma registry from July 2015 till December 2018, including all patients who underwent percutaneous fixation for pelvic ring injury. Majeed pelvic score was used to determine the functional outcome.Results: A total number of 30 patients were included, 27(90.0%) adults, and 3(10.0%) paediatrics patients. There were 21(70.0%) males and 9(30.0%)females. . Mean age of patients was 37.1±16.1 years. Post op mean Majeed functional pelvic Score was 85.8. Of the 30 patients, 18 (60.0%) had Excellent, 10 (33.3%) good and 02(6.7%) fair scoring.Conclusions: Percutaneous fixation of posterior ring injuries has excellent functional outcome, with minimal blood loss and no soft tissue striping.

Effectiveness of Nerve Blocks for Management of Head and Neck Cancer Associated Neuropathic Pain Disorders; a Retrospective Study

Introduction: A portion of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC)-associated pain may not experience relief in symptoms with non-invasive modalities. A nerve block is a procedure in which a local anesthetic agent is injected along the nerve track to preferentially block sensory transmission. The literature on the effectiveness of nerve blocks in the management of HNC-related pain is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of nerve blocks in management of breakthrough HNC-associated trigeminal or cervical neuropathic pain disorders. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients who underwent a nerve block or infiltration procedure in the regions of head and neck for management of breakthrough HNC-associated trigeminal or cervical neuropathic pain disorders in the Orofacial Pain Medicine clinic, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, between November 2018 and November 2019 was completed. Information regarding demographics, diagnosis, and pain characteristics was extracted and reviewed. The Fisher-exact test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for analysis between independent and dependent variables. Results: A total of 27 participants were included in the investigation, of which 66.7 % were males. The average pre-procedure pain score was 6.85 ± 2.54. Following intervention, 81.5 % of the participants experienced greater than 75 % relief in pain for longer than 48 hours. The mean immediate post-procedure pain score was 0.26 ± 1.02 and the average duration of relief was 6.10 ± 6.50 weeks. The significant effect of nerve blocks was found to be statistically associated with the concurrent use of amitriptyline (p = 0.017). Conclusion: Nerve blocks, as an adjunctive therapy to pharmacologic treatment, can provide significant relief to patients with breakthrough HNC-associated trigeminal and cervical neuropathic pain disorders. However, the duration of relief experienced by the participants is inconsistent. The beneficial effect of nerve blocks appears to be more common in patients that were concurrently using amitriptyline

Euglycemic Diabetic Ketoacidosis Due to SGLT2 Inhibitor in a Patient with Gitelman Syndrome: A Therapeutic Dilemma

Euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a rarely reported side effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) empagliflozin. A 51-year-old female with Gitelman syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) presented with abdominal pain after a recent hospitalization for acute pancreatitis. Her diabetes medications included metformin, pioglitazone, and empagliflozin. Diabetic ketoacidosis was suspected; however, glucose levels were below the cutoff for DKA; therefore, she was diagnosed with euglycemic DKA. Her pancreatitis workup was insignificant. Severe symptomatic hypokalemia despite aggressive repletion limited the management of DKA with insulin infusion therapy. As her ketonemia resolved, she was initiated on subcutaneous insulin with a small but acceptable decrease in potassium. The therapeutic dilemma of managing euglycemic DKA due to SGLT2i in a patient with Gitelman syndrome has not been previously described

Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD): Reflection and Resistance against Dictatorial Regime in Punjab

The Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) emerged when General Zia-ul-Haq could not fulfill the promise of conducting elections and prolonged his dictatorial regime instead of fulfilling his promise. He drew his power from a controlled system of government. In those circumstances, the democrats formed an alliance against the martial law administration. They neglected their internal differences and focused on their goal to achieve freedom of expression and liberty which was snubbed by the regime. MRD main demands were the restoration of democracy, under 1973 Constitution, conduction of election and handing over the system of administration to representatives of people. MRD continued struggled till the end of dictatorial regime in 1988

Technical and scale efficiency of automobile firms in Pakistan

The current study aimed at exploring the efficiency level of automobile firms in Pakistan.For this purpose, the current study has collected the data of 18 automobile and automobile parts firms from the year 2011 to the year 2015.To analyse the date, the current study has used the data envelopment analysis. Three models were used to calculate the firm efficiency such as constant return to scale, variable return to scale and scale efficiency.The results of the study have revealed that most of the automobile firms are not efficient during these years. In addition, the results were consistent based on the three efficiency models

Indian Constitutional Rearrangements in Jammu & Kashmir and the Responses of Kashmiri Diaspora

In the aftermath of August 5, 2019, almost the entire population of Indian-held Jammu & Kashmir was placed under stark lockdown with pro-freedom and mainstream politicians arrested. This was to prevent any outbreak in response to the revocation of region‟s special status. There were only two indigenous constituencies left for campaign and raising voices; „Pakistani-administered‟ J&K and Kashmiri diaspora. The diaspora‟s feeling of being backstabbed created a sense of dispossession and alienation. Kashmiri diaspora across the globe mobilised on various fronts ranging from diplomatic, social, political, academic, and media. Though they managed to highlight the Kashmir conflict internationally, but they could not make some tangible impact as India‟s constitutional re-arrangements and the human rights violations in Jammu & Kashmir continued unabated.&nbsp