Trade Costs of Pakistan with its Major Trading Partners: Measurement and its Determinants

Trade costs are cited as an important determinant of volume of trade. Higher trade cost is an obstacle to trade as it impedes the realization of gains from trade liberalisation. Determinants of trade costs of Pakistan for the period 2003-2012 with their major trading partners across Asia, European Union and North America are investigated. Several gravity type variables have been used as trade cost determinants. Trade costs for agricultural and non-agricultural sector are also calculated using a micro-founded trade costs measure. Estimates of trade costs equivalents show a declining trend of trade costs estimates over the period of study. Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square estimation of the model shows that tariff rates and distances between the trading partners increase the bilateral trade costs and thus adversely affect trade. Results show that improvements in port infrastructure and membership of free trade agreement significantly reduce the trade costs. Z-test shows that the effect of determinants of trade costs for agricultural and non-agricultural sectors is invariant. This paper recommends that the agreement on trade facilitation be implemented and reduce the red tape at border crossings to cut down the trade costs

The emergence of scholarly literature on physical/social distancing related to Coronavirus: A bibliometric analysis

Background: The world is witnessing new public health crises due to the emergence of the novel coronavirus. This study aims to present a bibliometric analysis of research on coronavirus-related physical/social distancing.Design and Methods: In this study, a bibliometric analysis was applied to see the research productivity and its impact on coronavirus-related physical/social distancing. For this purpose, Scopus was used to retrieve the data for the analysis. A total of 2900 records was downloaded from the database for analysis.Results: The findings revealed that the top four authors published their research in the year 2020. The study ranked the British Medical Journal (BMJ) at the top position on publishing the research on the topic. Similarly, the USA took the lead in all countries in producing research on the topic. The researchers preferred the document type ‘Article’ for sharing their research, and a single authorship pattern was dominated on all other patterns.Conclusion: Plenty of bibliometric studies are available on coronavirus, but not a single study is found on coronavirus-related physical/social distancing. This study will be valuable in identifying different bibliometric dimensions on the topic

Analysis of genetic diversity in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Genetic diversity of seven chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars of Pakistani origin was analyzed by using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, an extremely effective method to determine the variations among the chickpea cultivars. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions were optimized for RAPD and the conditions which gave the optimized results were selected for further amplifications. Using nine random decamers for seven genotypes of chickpea, 63 bands were amplified. Out of 63 bands, 50 were polymorphic in all the seven chickpea cultivars. The numbers of RAPD fragments generated per primer ranged from 3 to 11. However, majority of the primers amplified 7 to 11 fragments. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficients ranged from 0.333 to 0.651. Maximum similarity (65.1%) was observed between PK G-3 and PK G-4 and the lowest similarity (33.3%) was observed between PK G-3 and PK G-7. A dendrogram was constructed by using the unweighted pair group arithmetic mean arrangement (UPGMA) that was based on similarity coefficients. Seven chickpea cultivars were clustered in two distinct groups of which two cultivars (PK G-6 and PK G-7) stood separately in the dendrogram. The results from this study may be useful to maximize the selection of diverse parent cultivars and to broaden the germplasm base in the future for chickpea breeding programs. The information generated from this study can also be used in identifying efficient strategies for the sustainable management of the genetic resources of chickpea crop.Keywords: Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), chickpea cultivars, genetic diversit

Correlation of red cell distribution width with inflammatory markers and its prognostic value in patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease

Background. Recent studies have shown red blood cell distribution width (RDW) as a marker for severity and prognosis in coronary artery disease patients. Other studies have also correlated RDW with diabetes mellitus and inflammation. However, such correlation and prognosis in patients with concomitant coronary artery disease and diabetes after percutaneous intervention remains unclear. Material and methods. Our study group comprised of 730 subjects including 700 patients (cases) and 30 normal subjects (control group). Patients who presented with coronary artery disease were divided into diabetic and non-diabetic groups. All patients had RDW measured at admission and percutaneous intervention was done. Follow-up for adverse events was carried out between 6 to 12 months. Results. RDW was elevated in patients as compared to control group (p < 0.05). RDW correlated well with inflammatory markers including erythrocyte sedimen­tation rate, C-reactive protein, HbA1c, white blood cells and troponin. RDW was higher with more severe atherosclerosis based on SYNTAX and Gensini scores (p < 0.05). Prognosis was found to be worse in patients with high RDW as well as in diabetics. Conclusions. RDW has positive correlation with other inflammatory marker. It may be used as a marker in determining the severity and prognosis in diabetic patients with coronary artery disease

A Comparative Study of Cerium- and Ytterbium-Based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 Composites for Electrochemical and Photocatalytic Applications

The design of sustainable and efficient materials for efficient energy storage and degradation of environmental pollutants (specifically organic dyes) is a matter of major interest these days. For this purpose, cerium- and ytterbium-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 composites have been synthesized to explore their properties, especially in charge storage devices such as supercapacitors, and also as photocatalysts for the degradation of carcinogenic dyes from the environment. Physicochemical studies have been carried out using XRD, FTIR, SEM, and BET techniques. Electrochemical techniques (cyclic voltammetry, galvanic charge discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) have been employed to measure super-capacitance and EDLC properties. Results show that the gravimetric capacitance calculated from GCD results is 219 Fg−1 for ytterbium- and 169 Fg−1 for cerium-based nanocomposites at the current density of 1 A/g and scan rate of 2 mV/sec. The specific capacitance calculated for the ytterbium-based nanocomposite is 189 Fg−1 as compared to 125 Fg−1 for the cerium-based material. EIS results pointed to an enhanced resistance offered by cerium-based nanocomposites as compared to that of ytterbium, which can be assumed with the difference in particle size, as confirmed from structural studies including XRD. From obtained results, ytterbium oxide-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 is proven to be a better electro-catalyst as compared to cerium-based nanocomposites. Photocatalytic results are also in agreement with electrochemical results, as the degradation efficiency of ytterbium oxide-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 (67.11 and 83.50% for rhodamine B and methylene blue dyes) surpasses values observed for cerium-based GO/g-C3N4/Fe2O3 (63.08 and 70.61%)

Prognostic significance of serum potassium level for major adverse cardiac events and death in patients with coronary atherosclerotic disease

Introduction: Serum potassium levels have been shown in some animal studies to be associated with theprocess of atherosclerosis. We decided to assess the correlation of serum potassium level in ischemic heart diseasepatients with disease severity and its relationship with prognosis in terms of major acute cardiac events (MACE). Material and methods: This was a cross-sectional cohort study carried out at cardiology department of RehmanMedical Institute, from July 2016 to 31st Aug. 2018 a period of 26 months. 622 patients were included in thestudy. Clinical and angiographic characteristics were assessed based on the serum potassium level. Correlation ofserum potassium level with Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery(SYNTAX) and Gensini scores was also evaluated. Follow up for MACE was carried out after one year. Results: Mean serum potassium level was 3.93 ± 0.95 (mEq/l) in coronary artery disease patients. Serumpotassium level showed negative correlation with SYNTAX score (r = –0.60, p < 0.05) and Gensini score(r = –0.64, p < 0.05). There was also a significant difference between low and high potassium level in relationto the multi-vessel disease on coronary angiography (p < 0.05). Low potassium level was a good predictor ofadverse outcomes as shown by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that serumpotassium level and diabetes were independent predictors of MACE (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Low serum potassium level is correlated with more severe coronary atherosclerosis. Low potassiumlevels are associated with significantly poor outcomes

Genetic Investigation of Consanguineous Pakistani Families Segregating Rare Spinocerebellar Disorders

Spinocerebellar disorders are a vast group of rare neurogenetic conditions, generally characterized by overlapping clinical symptoms including progressive cerebellar ataxia, spastic paraparesis, cognitive deficiencies, skeletal/muscular and ocular abnormalities. The objective of the present study is to identify the underlying genetic causes of the rare spinocerebellar disorders in the Pakistani population. Herein, nine consanguineous families presenting different spinocerebellar phenotypes have been investigated using whole exome sequencing. Sanger sequencing was performed for segregation analysis in all the available individuals of each family. The molecular analysis of these families identified six novel pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants; ZFYVE26: c.1093del, SACS: c.1201C>T, BICD2: c.2156A>T, ALS2: c.2171-3T>G, ALS2: c.3145T>A, and B4GALNT1: c.334_335dup, and three already reported pathogenic variants; FA2H: c.159_176del, APTX: c.689T>G, and SETX: c.5308_5311del. The clinical features of all patients in each family are concurrent with the already reported cases. Hence, the current study expands the mutation spectrum of rare spinocerebellar disorders and implies the usefulness of next-generation sequencing in combination with clinical investigation for better diagnosis of these overlapping phenotypes

The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey: III. HI Source Catalog of the Northern Virgo Cluster Region

We present the first installment of HI sources extracted from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) extragalactic survey, initiated in 2005. Sources have been extracted from 3-D spectral data cubes and then examined interactively to yield global HI parameters. A total of 730 HI detections are catalogued within the solid angle 11h44m < R.A.(J2000) < 14h00m and +12deg < Dec.(J2000) < +16deg, and redshift range -1600 \kms < cz < 18000 \kms. In comparison, the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) detected 40 HI signals in the same region. Optical counterparts are assigned via examination of digital optical imaging databases. ALFALFA HI detections are reported for three distinct classes of signals: (a) detections, typically with S/N > 6.5; (b) high velocity clouds in the Milky Way or its periphery; and (c) signals of lower S/N (to ~ 4.5) which coincide spatially with an optical object of known similar redshift. Although this region of the sky has been heavily surveyed by previous targeted observations based on optical flux-- or size-- limited samples, 69% of the extracted sources are newly reported HI detections. The resultant positional accuracy of HI sources is 20" (median). The median redshift of the sample is ~7000 \kms and its distribution reflects the known local large scale structure including the Virgo cluster. Several extended HI features are found in the vicinity of the Virgo cluster. A small percentage (6%) of HI detections have no identifiable optical counterpart, more than half of which are high velocity clouds in the Milky Way vicinity; the remaining 17 objects do not appear connected to or associated with any known galaxy.Comment: Astronomical Journal, in pres

Unintended consequences of mHealth interactive voice messages promoting contraceptive use after menstrual regulation in Bangladesh : intimate partner violence results from a randomized controlled trial

This study is funded by UK aid from the UK government. It was part-funded through the Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy (STEP-UP) Research Consortium, managed by the Population Council. KR was funded by an ESRC PhD fellowship.Background: Mobile phones for health (mHealth) hold promise for delivering behavioral interventions. We evaluated the effect of automated interactive voice messages promoting contraceptive use with a focus on long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) among women in Bangladesh who had undergone menstrual regulation (MR), a procedure to “regulate the menstrual cycle when menstruation is absent for a short duration.” Methods: We recruited MR clients from 41 public- and private-sector clinics immediately after MR. Eligibility criteria included having a personal mobile phone and consenting to receive messages about family planning by phone. We randomized participants remotely to an intervention group that received at least 11 voice messages about contraception over 4 months or to a control group (no messages). The primary outcome was LARC use at 4 months. Adverse events measured included experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). Researchers recruiting participants and 1 analyst were blinded to allocation groups. All analyses were intention to treat. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02579785). Results: Between December 2015 and March 2016, 485 women were allocated to the intervention group and 484 to the control group. We completed follow-up on 389 intervention and 383 control participants. Forty-eight (12%) participants in the intervention group and 59 (15%) in the control group reported using a LARC method at 4 months (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] using multiple imputation=0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.49 to 1.83; P=.22). Reported physical IPV was higher in the intervention group: 42 (11%) intervention versus 25 (7%) control (aOR=1.97; 95% CI=1.12 to 3.46; P=.03) when measured using a closed question naming acts of violence. No violence was reported in response to an open question about effects of being in the study. Conclusions: The intervention did not increase LARC use but had an unintended consequence of increasing self-reported IPV. Researchers and health program designers should consider possible negative impacts when designing and evaluating mHealth and other reproductive health interventions. IPV must be measured using closed questions naming acts of violence.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe