Comparison of Oral Versus Vaginal Misoprostol for Induction of Labour at Term

Background: To compare the efficacy and safety of oral versus vaginal administration of Misoprostol for induction of labour at term. Methods: In this interventional study primigravida were assigned in two groups; A and B, using non-probability convenient sampling technique. Group-A (n=50) had Misoprostol orally, while group-B (n=50) received the drug by vaginal route. Dosage was 100 μg four hours apart in group-A and six hours apart in group-B. Maximum of four doses were given. Main outcome measures of study were labour-induction interval, labour-delivery interval, mode of delivery, neonatal outcome and feto-maternal complications. Results: The mean dosage requirement for induction of labour in groups A and B was 2.1±1.1 and 2.4±1.8 (p-0.23) respectively. Mean labour-induction interval in group A and B were 7.5±4.2 and 7.3±4.1 (p-0.87) hours respectively, which is not significant statistically. Mean labour delivery interval was shorter in vaginal group (4.9±2.7 hours) versus oral group(6.0±2.2) hours (p-0.04). Need for Oxytocin augmentation was less in vaginal group (21%) versus oral group (68%) (p-0.009). There was no statistical difference between the groups with respect to mode of delivery and neonatal outcome. The incidence of hyper-stimulation was similar in both groups. Conclusion:Misoprostol is a cost effective alternate for induction of labour. Misoprostol through vaginal route results in successful cervical ripening, less need for oxytocin and shorter time to delivery with acceptable safety profile

Credit Risk Management Techniques Used by the Banks of Southern Punjab for the Management of Highly Correlated and Localized Risks in Agricultural Finance

Purpose: Agricultural is an important sector in economy of Pakistan.  Agriculture plays significant role in economic development of Pakistan.  Its contribution to GDP is about 23% and approximately 60% of our total population lives in the rural areas and most of them earn their livelihood from agriculture.  Due to green revolution rapid changes have been occurred in production technologies and methods have been changed.  Too much capital is required to adopt these methods and technologies but small formers cannot afford them.  They need finance for production and investment purpose.  The small former has very limited ability to agricultural finance for both production and investment needs and they are facing shortfall of credit. Banks hesitate to award agriculture credit because of higher credit risk.  The main purpose of this research paper is to find out the credit risk that faced by the banks of Southern Punjab Pakistan and risk management techniques used by the banks of Southern Punjab Pakistan. Methodology: In this research paper quantitative study on credit risk faced and its management techniques used by the bank of Southern Punjab is being made.  Standard questionnaire is used for the collection of data on credit risk and its management techniques from the banks.  A sample of 45 banks branches from 17 banks that award agriculture credit was taken from two districts (Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan).SPSS software is being used for the analysis purpose.  The Frequency distribution was used for analysis. Finding: The findings of this research article are that 82.2% of banks have faced the situation of credit risk in which farmers failed to pay back the credit to bank.  53.3% respondent considered the production, price and policy risk together affect all the farmers in a particular geographical area. 35% considered willfully rejection risk as important risk that arises due to individual farmer.  Sixty percent respondents use the crop insurance for the management of production risk. 48.9% bank used no technique for the management of price risk. 75.6% respondent’s views that improvement in laws and policies on land ownership will help in credit risk management.  Sixty percent respondent does not insure the life of farmer.  77.8% use collateral management for the management of willfully rejection risk.  According to 75.6% respondent fire/theft insurance of agricultural asset will help to manage this risk. Value: The value of this research paper is that it gives us idea about the credit risk faced and it management techniques used by the banks of Southern Punjab Pakistan.  It also gives us idea about the credit risk management techniques which are being used in the world but not in the Southern Punjab. Research Implications: The research implications of this paper are to increase the understanding of factors which are basis for credit risk in agriculture finance and its management techniques used by the banks of Southern Punjab. . Paper Type: Research Paper Keywords: agricultural Finance, credit risk, credit risk management techniques in agricultural finance, crop insurance, highly correlated risk, localized risk, price smoothing

Role of Microfinance Institutions to Transform Health and Education of Middle Class People of Pakistan

Microfinance institutions are products and services offered to the small business for improving the poor people especially health and education standards services including the saving, insurance, and money transferred facility, and a broad array of loan options. The main aim of the research paper is to deeply analyze and examine the role of micro finance institutions on bringing improvement in the health care and educational standards of middle people of Pakistan. The research is quantitative in nature. Questionnaire technique is utilized for the conduction of the research. The sample size limit is one hundred and five. Correlation and Regressions tests have being utilized for the analyses of the data. The findings of research have reflected that a micro finance institution does transform the health and education of middle class people of Pakistan. Index Terms— Microfinance Institution, Analysis, Health Standards and Education Syste

The biology of myelodysplastic syndromes: unity despite heterogeneity

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) traditionally have been grouped together as a disease entity based on clinical phenomena seen in association. Despite the similarities, there is great heterogeneity among the syndromes. Recent insights have shown, however, that there exists a biologically cohesive theme that unifies and thereby validates the conceptual interconnectedness. The first suggestion that such a relationship existed where biology could directly explain the observed cytopenias was the finding of excessive premature apoptosis of hematopoietic cells in MDS marrows. This apoptosis was mediated by paracrine as well as autocrine factors implicating both the seed and the soil in the pathology of the disease. Pro-inflammatory cytokines in the marrow microenvironment were mainly the paracrine mediators of apoptosis, but how the clonal cells committed suicide because of autocrine stimulation had remained a mystery for more than a decade. It has been shown now that deregulation of ribosome biogenesis can initiate a stress response in the cell through the p53 signaling pathway. Congenital anemias had been associated with mutations in ribosomal protein genes. The surprise came with the investigation of 5q- syndrome patients where haplo-insufficiency of the ribosomal protein gene RPS14 was found to be the cause of this MDS subtype. Similar ribosomal deregulation was shown to be present in all varieties of MDS patients, serving as another unifying characteristic. In addition to these findings, there are other DNA-related abnormalities such as uniparental disomy, mutations in the TET2 gene, and epigenetic phenomena that are associated with and occur across all types of MDS. This paper summarizes the themes unifying this heterogeneous group of diseases

Credit Risk Management Practices Used by Banks in Agricultural Finance: A Case Study of Pakistan

Purpose: Agricultural sector is an important sector of Pakistan’s economy. Agriculture plays a significant role in the economic development of Pakistan.  Its contribution to GDP is about 23% and approximately 60% of Pakistan’s total population live in the rural areas and most of them earn their livelihood from agriculture.  Due to the green revolution, rapid changes have been occurring  in production technologies, and methods have been changed.  As more capital is required to adopt these methods and technologies, so the small farmers cannot afford these methods. They need finances for production and investment purpose.  The small farmer has very limited ability to agricultural finance for both production and investment needs and they are facing a shortfall of credit. Banks hesitate to grant agriculture credit because of higher credit risk.  The main purpose of this research paper is to find out the credit risk faced by the banks of Pakistan and risk management techniques used by these banks. Research methodology: This research is basically quantitative in nature, and a Standard questionnaire is used for the collection of data on credit risk and its management techniques from the banks.  A sample of 45 bank branches of 17 banks that grant agriculture credit has been taken and questionnaire were being filled by credit officers of the agricultural sections of these banks. The Frequency distribution technique was applied through SPSS 17 to analyze and finalize the results. Findings: The major findings of this research are: 82.2% of banks had faced the situation of credit risk in which farmers failed to pay back the credit to the bank.  53.3% respondents considered the production, price and policy risk together affect all the farmers in a particular geographical area. 35% considered ‘’willful rejection risk” as an important risk that arises due to an individual farmer. 60% respondents use the crop insurance for the management of production risk. 48.9% bank used no technique for the management of price risk. 75.6% respondents suggest that the improvement in laws and policies on land ownership will help in credit risk management.  60% respondent does not insure the life of a farmer.  77.8% use collateral management for the management of “willful rejection risk”.  According to 75.6% respondent’s fire/theft insurance of agricultural asset will help to manage this risk. Originality /Value: The value of this research paper is that it gives us an idea about the credit risk faced and its management techniques used by the banks of Pakistan.  It also gives us an idea about the credit risk management techniques which are being used in the world but not in the Pakistan. Research Implications: The research implications of this paper are to increase the understanding of factors which are the basis for credit risk in agricultural financing and its management techniques used by the banks of Pakistan. Paper Type: Research Paper Keywords: agricultural finance, credit risk, Risk management practices, crop insurance, highly correlated risk, localized risk, price smoothing

Seasonal and spatial variability of selected surface water quality parameters in Setiu Wetland, Terengganu, Malaysia

This paper presents the results for surface water quality parameters measured in the Setiu Wetland, on the east coast of Malaysia, which feeds into the southern part of the South China Sea. There are no previous studies dealing with the seasonal and spatial variation of water quality in this area, despite numerous anthropogenic inputs into this ecologically and economically important wetland. The parameters measured were salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS). These parameters were sampled monthly from October 2009 to September 2010, during both the wet and dry seasons, at ten sampling stations distributed throughout the area. The physical water quality parameters were measured in situ whilst TSS and BOD were determined using the standard methods. A deterioration of water quality in the Setiu Wetland was observed in areas near agriculture and aquaculture activities. This was expected to be as a result of the use of fertilisers, waste from fish farm food and the waste products of aquaculture. The parameters measured showed lower mean values of surface salinity, temperature, DO, pH and TSS during the wet season relative to the dry season. In contrast, the concentration of BOD was high during the wet season and lowest in the dry season. Results obtained from this study clearly showed the surface physical water quality for the Setiu Wetland was highly influenced by anthropogenic activities and seasonal variation. Therefore, both factors must be considered to move towards proper management of this wetland

Hepatoprotective effect of Cichorium Intybus linn (Kasni) Extracts against Carbon Tetrachloride induced Liver Damage

Background: To assess the effect of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Cichorium intybus linn , frequently used by Hakims and traditional healers, on liver, against the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatic injury. Methods: In this experimental intervention study, forty rats were subdivided into four sub groups, ten in each group. Group I was kept as standard control. For this study three groups (II, III, IV) were made in which aqueous and alcoholic extract was given prior to hepatic damage by CCl4. Hepatoprotective effect was assessed by measuring serum levels of alanine transaminase(ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Results: Very significant hepatoprotective effect (p<0.001) was observed by alcoholic extract while aqueous extract showed no significant effect against CCl4 induced hepatic injury. Conclusion: Alcoholic extract of Cichorium intybus linn exhibits a very significant hepatoprotective effec