Assessment of Forest Resource Exploitation in the Rural Communities of District Jhelum, Pakistan

18 October, 2019 Accepted: 25 October, 2019Abstract: Forest resources are deteriorating and experiencing decline around the globe due to unsustainable use andover exploitation. The present study was an attempt to determine the relationship between human activities, forestresource utilization, extraction methods and practices of forest resource exploitation in the district Jhelum of Pakistan.For this purpose, primary sources of data were used which were collected from 8 villages through structuredquestionnaire and tabulated in Microsoft Excel 365 and SPSS 22 was used for multiple linear regression analysis. Theresults revealed that farming, wood cutting, animal husbandry and agro-forestry were the major occupations in thestudy area. Most commonly used resources included timber 26%, fuelwood 25% and fodder 19%. Methods used forresource extraction included gathering 49%, plucking 34% trapping 11% and cutting 6%. Population growth, increaseddemand of fuelwood and land conversion were the main reasons behind forest degradation. Results for multiple linearregression revealed that Forest based activities, sources of energy production, methods used for wood harvesting andresource extraction and use of fuelwood for energy production contributed significantly towards extensive forestresource exploitation with p value <0.5 within the study area. The study suggests that effective measures should betaken by forest department to control the unsustainable use of forest resources by stringent management interventionsand awareness campaigns in Jhelum district

Exploring the Role of Locational Factors in the Growth of Textile Industry in Tehsil Jaranwala, District Faisalabad

Industrialization is a procedure which contributes to the economy of a country and plays a pivotal role in theexpansion of wealth and economic growth of a community. Textile industry has acted as the backbone of the industrialsector of Pakistan and has contributed a lot in the regional growth especially in Punjab. The present study is aimed toassess the role of locational factors that have proven favorable in the growth and successful development of textileindustry in Jaranwala tehsil, Faisalabad district. An empirical research design was selected and Jaranwala tehsil waschosen as the study area. Both primary and secondary data sources were used, and primary data were collected througha fully-structured questionnaire. Five sample sites were selected, and 75 textile industries were visited, and data wereobtained by interviewing the administrative staff of the respective textile units. The collected data were further arrangedand tabulated by using Microsoft Excel 2010, SPSS 20; Paired sample T test was performed to check the significancebetween types of industries and factors affecting the location of surveyed textile industries. Distributional and thematicmaps were prepared with the help of Arc GIS 10.1. The result of the study showed that availability of raw material,cheap labor and better climatic conditions were the most favorable factors for the location of industries in the studyarea. The study recommends the further work on other types of industries following same pattern in order to understandtheir economic progress in regional growth and development of the study area

Geospatial Clustering and Hot Spot Detection of COVID-19 Incidence in 2020: A Global Analysis

Emergence and spread of Covid-19 initiated diversified researches based on spatial analysis in visualization, exploration, and modelling of this infection. This short communication is an attempt to comprehend the geographic distribution and spatial clustering of Covid-19 in year 2020. Main objective is to spatially analyze Covid-19 incidence rates, identification of hotspots and clusters outliers at global level. Monthly data of reported cases were taken from World Health Organization dashboard and situation reports. Incidence rate was calculated for each country for each month. Spatial autocorrelation techniques of Global Moran are I and Anselian Local Moran’s I were used to examine the spatial clustering and outlier’s detection of Covid-19 incidence in all months of the year. Hotspots and Coldspots variations are examined by using Getis-Ord G*. Mapping was executed in ArcGIS Pro environment. Results reveal significant spatial variation of Covid-19 incidence in WHO regions in different months of pandemic year 2020. Hotspots and high clustering of the disease incidence shows a shift from Western pacific towards Europe and Americas from January to April. Eastern Mediterranean countries also became a part of disease hotspots from the month of July leaving Africa as coldspot during whole year. Highest Moran’s I value of 0.32 with highest z-score of 14 reflects the highly clustered pattern of this pandemic incidence in the month of December in contrary to least clustering of the disease with lowest Moran’s I of 0.02 and z-score of 1.8 in June. Statistically significant variations in disease clustering pattern provides an opportunity for epidemiologists to further explore the disease incidence from ecological perspective

Spatial Patterns of LRTI among Children in Lahore

Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (LRTI) is the leading global cause of morbidity and mortality in children of 1 month in developing countries. The aim of this research was to examine the spatial patterns of children under LRTI in Lahore, Pakistan. The records of all patients of LRTIs among children <5 years, admitted in the four different public sector hospitals of Lahore from 2017-2021 were analyzed. The collected data was processed and analyzed in SPSS 22.0 for the chi-square test (P<0.0.5), Multiple linear regression and ANOVA were calculated to assess the association of these variables. Town-wise distribution of diseases was mapped in ArcGIS 10.5. There were 2,609 pediatrics patients admitted and major cases in the year 2021.  All the patients were distributed in four age groups, <2m, 2-12m, 13-24m, 25-60m. The most common diagnosis was Bronchopneumonia with (77.50%), Bronchiolitis (11.84%), Pneumonia (6.86%), and Bronchitis (3.79%). A significant increasing trend was found in Bronchopneumonia. In town-wise analysis, out of 2,609 patients, 977 patients were observed in Allama Iqbal Town. The peak season of the disease was seen in winter Dec-Feb. LRTI is a leading cause of childhood hospitalization in Lahore, Pakistan. These results may guide health authorities to determine where and when to effectively allocate resources for the prevention and control of LRTI. Full Tex

Spatial Patterns of LRTI among Children in Lahore

Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (LRTI) is the leading global cause of morbidity and mortality in children of 1 month in developing countries. The aim of this research was to examine the spatial patterns of children under LRTI in Lahore, Pakistan. The records of all patients of LRTIs among children <5 years, admitted in the four different public sector hospitals of Lahore from 2017-2021 were analyzed. The collected data was processed and analyzed in SPSS 22.0 for the chi-square test (P<0.0.5), Multiple linear regression and ANOVA were calculated to assess the association of these variables. Town-wise distribution of diseases was mapped in ArcGIS 10.5. There were 2,609 pediatrics patients admitted and major cases in the year 2021.  All the patients were distributed in four age groups, <2m, 2-12m, 13-24m, 25-60m. The most common diagnosis was Bronchopneumonia with (77.50%), Bronchiolitis (11.84%), Pneumonia (6.86%), and Bronchitis (3.79%). A significant increasing trend was found in Bronchopneumonia. In town-wise analysis, out of 2,609 patients, 977 patients were observed in Allama Iqbal Town. The peak season of the disease was seen in winter Dec-Feb. LRTI is a leading cause of childhood hospitalization in Lahore, Pakistan. These results may guide health authorities to determine where and when to effectively allocate resources for the prevention and control of LRTI. Full Tex

Kashmir Cause at Its Final End: Analysis on So Claimed Indian Bilateralism Talks and Role of International Community for Peaceful Settlement

Peaceful settlement of any conflict through negotiations is an ideal way of pursuing and resolving every course which is the ideal practice to be followed by the international community. However, in the context of prevailing situation, Indians are trying to avoid every course of action adopted by Pakistan unless the ongoing insurgency has bled them white, leaving them with no other option. After winning election of 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian government has emanated with more aggression and revealed more violent policies against Pakistan hence leaving no chance for the negotiation of dialogue for pursuance of Kashmir issue. BJP has long history of history of opposing the article 370 and they used its revoking as election manifesto in 2019. This may not be possible in the wake of imposing external pressure by the international community. Thus presently, to fulfil the long waited commitment for Kashmiris, and to realize the importance of Kashmir issue, to save the Kashmiri nation from Indian atrocities and by putting pressure on Indians to come on a political platform, Pakistan needs to create conducive environments through diplomatic platform with added diplomatic support for Kashmiris on the international forums

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: A STUDY ON TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR OF PAKISTAN: Shamaila Gull, Khurram Shabih Zaidi, Ibtisam Butt

The corporate governance mechanisms in Pakistan are not given much importance to enhance the corporate social responsibility activities in business organizations. Organizations are expanding their boundaries and adopting new and innovative ways to show that they care for humanity. This article studies the influence of corporate governance on different corporate social responsibilities activities in Pakistani organizations. Five-point likert scale questionnaire was used to measure the impact of corporate governance on corporate social responsibility activities in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan. Regression analysis was done to test the relationship between corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, along with other correlational and descriptive statistical analysis. The results suggest that the corporate governance dimensions of discipline, social awareness, transparency, fairness and responsibility have a significant effect on corporate social responsibility

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licenseBackground: Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide. Methods: A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study—a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·85 [95% CI 2·58–5·75]; p<0·0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63·0% vs 82·7%; OR 0·35 [0·23–0·53]; p<0·0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer. Interpretation: Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licenseBackground: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality. Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia. The primary outcome was death or major complication within 30 days of surgery. Multilevel logistic regression determined relationships within three-level nested models of patients within hospitals and countries. Hospital-level infrastructure effects were explored with three-way mediation analyses. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471494. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, we enrolled 15 958 patients from 428 hospitals in 82 countries (high income 9106 patients, 31 countries; upper-middle income 2721 patients, 23 countries; or lower-middle income 4131 patients, 28 countries). Patients in LMICs presented with more advanced disease compared with patients in high-income countries. 30-day mortality was higher for gastric cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (adjusted odds ratio 3·72, 95% CI 1·70–8·16) and for colorectal cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (4·59, 2·39–8·80) and upper-middle-income countries (2·06, 1·11–3·83). No difference in 30-day mortality was seen in breast cancer. The proportion of patients who died after a major complication was greatest in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (6·15, 3·26–11·59) and upper-middle-income countries (3·89, 2·08–7·29). Postoperative death after complications was partly explained by patient factors (60%) and partly by hospital or country (40%). The absence of consistently available postoperative care facilities was associated with seven to 10 more deaths per 100 major complications in LMICs. Cancer stage alone explained little of the early variation in mortality or postoperative complications. Interpretation: Higher levels of mortality after cancer surgery in LMICs was not fully explained by later presentation of disease. The capacity to rescue patients from surgical complications is a tangible opportunity for meaningful intervention. Early death after cancer surgery might be reduced by policies focusing on strengthening perioperative care systems to detect and intervene in common complications. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit