Impact of Human Capital and Infrastructure Development on Economic Growth in Pakistan

The core purpose of the analysis is to explore the influence of human capital and infrastructure on Pakistan’s economic growth. The study is based on time series data covering the period from 1972 to 2013. The study has applied Johansen Cointegration technique to estimate the long run and short run relationship among variables. Results indicate that human capital and infrastructure development have positive and significant impact on economic growth. Further, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is applied to construct infrastructure index to observe its impact on economic growth

Impact of external debt on stock market performance and economic growth: Moderating role of capital formation

The main objective of this study is to ascertain the effect of external debt on economic growth and stock market performance in SAARC countries that included Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India for the period spanning from 1992 to 2017. This study examines the effect of capital formation as a moderator. Using panel least square recreation analysis, we find a negative and significant association between economic growth and external debts. The inclusion of interaction tea reveals a positive moderation effect of capital formation on the relationship of external debt and economic growth. Our study suggest that the external debt is less favourable for the SAARC countries and that greater emphasis should be increased on capital formulation. Moreover, policies that enhance the national treasury base, increase exports, and make environment conducive for foreign direct investment should be introduced in SAARC countries. The governments of SAARC countries should look for the alternates of external debt for financing the fiscal deficit

Synthesis and evaluation of pH dependent hydrogels for controlled release of Venlafaxine HCl

pH dependent hydrogel formulations of venlafexine HCl were prepared by free radical polymerization method using polyethylene glycol as polymer. Various samples were prepared with varying concentration of polymer, monomer and cross-linker to study their effect on gel swelling, diffusion characteristics and drug release. Swelling was found to be increased with increase in pH. Increase in acrylic acid concentration increases swelling while increase in cross-linker concentration has an opposite effect on swelling. Drug release study was performed in pH 1.2, 5.5 and 7.5 for 12 hours at 37 oC and drug release was found to increase in higher pH. Prepared hydrogel preparations were also characterized by PXRD, TGA, SEM and FTIR

DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF PESTICIDES ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

Pesticides are toxic chemicals used for controlling of insects and pests which caused harms to plants or animals. Pesticides also effect the environment as well as human health. They play a vital role in securing of food but they require a number of risks and problems. Therefore, present study is designed to know the pesticide usage and its harmful effects on environment and health of cotton growers. There are 19 rural union councils out of which 4 were selected through simple random sampling. From each selected union council, 2 villages were selected at random and from each selected village, 20 cotton growers were selected randomly thus making a sample size of 160 respondents. A well planned pre-tested and validated interview schedule was prepared for the collection of data from the selected respondents. The collected data were examined by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for illustration conclusions and making recommendations. A vast majority (90%) of the respondents selected the pesticides on better results, (83.1%) on behalf of multinational company and majority (76.3%) selected pesticides of national company and a significant of majority (70%) of respondents used the gloves whereas a huge majority (85.6%) of respondents weared the mask during pesticide application. It was found that a huge majority (81.9%) of respondents had headache effect, 67.1% had fatigue, and majority (68.8%) had dizziness while 68.1% had skin disorders. Govt. should promote the first aid training program for safety measurement regarding pesticide usage and enhance the protection techniques for environment and health of organisms regarding pesticides effect

Genetic characterization of human echinococcosis in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

IntroductionEchinococcosis is a neglected tropical zoonotic infection that affects both the human and livestock populations. In Pakistan, the infection is long-standing, but data on its molecular epidemiology and genotypic characterization in the southern Punjab region are limited. The aim of the current study was the molecular characterization of human echinococcosis in southern Punjab, Pakistan.MethodsEchinococcal cysts were obtained from a total of 28 surgically treated patients. Patients’ demographic characteristics were also recorded. The cyst samples were subjected to further processing to isolate DNA in order to probe the Nad1 and Cyt-b genes, followed by DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis for genotypic identification.ResultsThe majority of the echinococcal cysts were from male patients (60.7%). The liver was the most commonly infected organ (60.71%), followed by the lungs (25%), spleen (7.14%), and the mesentery (7.14%). Molecular and genotypic identification through sequencing and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that most of the cysts (24/28, 85.7%) were caused by the species Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (E. granulosus s.s.) (G1 and G3), followed by Echinococcus multilocularis (E. multilocularis) and Echinococcus canadensis (E. canadensis) (G6/G7) (3/28, 10.8%, and 1/28, 3.5%, respectively).ConclusionThe current study concluded that the majority of human infections were caused by E. granulosus s.s., followed by the E. multilocularis and E. canadensis species (G6/G7). Genotypic characterization among both human and livestock populations is needed to explore the genetic diversity of echinococcosis

Hepatoprotective effect of desi and kabuli cultivars of Cicer arietinum L (chick peas) against carbon tetrachloride-induced toxicity in rats

Purpose: To determine the hepatoprotective potential of ethanol extracts of desi and kabuli cultivars of Cicer arietinum L. (chick peas). Methods: Hepatotoxicity was induced in rats using oral administration of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). The rats were then orally administered different doses of the ethanol extracts of desi and kabuli cultivars of Cicer arietinum L. for 21 days. Oxidative stress parameters and hepatoprotective profiles were determined in serum samples using standard procedures. The effect of the treatments on liver histology was also determined. Results: Administration of extracts of desi and kabuli cultivars of Cicer arietinum L. to CCl4 treated rats at a dose of 300 mg/kg resulted in a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in oxidative stress parameters, whereas catalase activity significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05); on the other hand, ALT and AST levels were decreased significantly (p ≤ 0.05), when compared to the control group. Conclusion: High doses of Cicer arietinum L (desi and kabuli cultivars) seem to have hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects on CCl4-induced toxicity in rats. This finding underscores the therapeutic importance of Cicer arietinum L. as a plant with hepatoprotective properties. Keywords: Cicer arietinum, Phenolics, Hepatotoxicity, Chick peas, Catalas

Study of erythrocytes as a novel drug carrier for the delivery of artemether

Resealed erythrocytes have been explored in various dimensions of drug delivery, owing to their high biocompatibility and inability to initiate immune response. The present research was designed to evaluate the drug delivery potential of erythrocytes by loading a hydrophobic anti-malarial drug, Artemether. Three different loading techniques were applied to achieve maximum optimized drug loading. A HPLC method was validated for drug quantification in erythrocytes. The relatively high loading was achieved using hypotonic treatment was 31.39% as compared to other two methods. These, drug loaded erythrocytes were characterized for membrane integrity via ESR showing higher ESR values for drug loaded cells as compared to normal cells. Moreover, microscopic evaluation was done to observe morphological changes in erythrocytes after successful loading which showed swollen cells with slight rough surface as compared to smooth surface of normal cells. Drug release was studied for 8 h which showed more than 80% release within 3-7 h from erythrocytes treated with different hypotonic methods. Overall, the study revealed a potential application of erythrocytes in delivery of hydrophobic drugs using hypotonic treatment as compared to other methods

Exploring The Relationship Between Egris and The Need For Mechanical Ventilation In Guillain Barré Syndrome

Background and objective: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune system-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy that accounts for approximately 100,000 new patients per year globally. GBS has also been linked to respiratory failure in 20% to 40% of cases. The objective of this study was to find an association between Erasmus GBS respiratory insufficiency score (EGRIS) and the need for mechanical ventilation. Methods: We conducted our cross-sectional study at department of Neurology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences from November 2019 to February 2020. Sixty patients were selected for this study. Data including demographic profile, variant of GBS, and EGRIS was calculated from all the study participants. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: All 60 patients enrolled in the study underwent continuous monitoring during admission time. Out of 60 patients, three (5%) endured mechanical ventilation with a mean EGRIS of 4.5. Others who didn\u27t need mechanical ventilation had mean EGRIS of 1.5. The three patients requiring mechanical ventilation were one each from Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy, and Acute Motor and Sensory Axonal Neuropathy variants of GBS. p-value was non-significant for the presented data. Conclusion: EGRIS could not meet statistical significance in identifying the requirement of mechanical ventilation for GBS in this study. This may be due to low sample size

Impact of Micro Economic Variables on Firms Performance

The aim of our study is to analyze the factors that affect performance of the cement sector focusing particularly on Pakistani firms. The study further finds the impact of size on performance, to examine the relationship between age of the firm and firm performance, to measure the effect of growth on firm’s performance and to highlight the impact of leverage on performance of the firm. There are twenty six cement companies listed in KSE. However, for the purpose of this paper only twenty companies were selected whose data was readily available over the period of eleven years from 2002 to 2012. Methodology: The data for the study was extracted from the annual reports of all the companies. In this study panel data analysis is used. Findings: After analyzing the data we have come to a point that all of the four variables have significant impact on the performance of the firm. We have seen that leverage has a positive impact effect on the performance of the firm when ROA is analyzed. Size, age and growth have a positive impact on return on equity (ROE) while leverage has a negative impact. Recommendations: This paper shows new insights for policy makers to improve the performance of Pakistani firms