Decentralization and Social Development: A Study of Local Government System of Pakistan

Decentralization is very important dimension of the modern political system because it applies the core of democracy through local government system (LGS). Every country struggles for social development that includes the standard life of the citizens which is only possible through better delivery system of social services by an efficient local government system. The major concern of the current research is to measure the relationship between “Decentralization” and “Social Development”. The current study is quantitative and descriptive in nature which is based on explanatory research design. The data are gathered through primary and secondary sources. The sample size of primary strand of study consists of 1000 respondents which were selected from the six sampled universities of the Punjab (Pakistan). The questionnaire was employed by the researchers to collect the primary data that are analyzed later by statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The results of the study found a strong relationship between decentralization and social development. The value of R-Square is .468 that indicates all the included subindicators of independent variable have strong and positive relationship with dependent variable

Socio-Political History of Nepal: A Case Study of Nepali Local Government System

Nepal is one of the members of SAARC. Like most of other members, Nepal has also a long socio-political history. It has a particular culture that distinguishes it from the other members. The current study is mainly a descriptive study that is based on secondary data in which the researchers collected data from different articles, books and research reports. This article is an attempt to explore the social and political history of Nepal. Nepal has passed through different phases of political rules like the rule of Shah Dynasty and Rana’s rule. During 1950s, Nepal for the first time in the history opened for international community. Nepal practiced Panchayat System as well. The Maoist Movement is also an important phase in the political history of Nepal. Furthermore, the local government system is also discussed in detail by the researchers. Like the different political eras, it also faced many changes. Currently, Nepal is experiencing two tiers Local Government System that is District Development Committee (DDC) and Village Development Committee (VDC

CLINICAL PROFILE OF PATIENTS WITH SEPTICEMIA

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical profile of patients with septicemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross sectional case series study of six months was conducted at tertiary care teaching hospital Hyderabad. The admitted patients of age ≥18 years, either gender diagnosed as sepsis were recruited. The diagnosis of sepsis was made by the detail clinical history and examination and relevant investigations. The clinical parameters include fever, hypothermia or hyperthermia, tachycardia, tachypnea, leucocytosis or leucopenia, acute altered mental status, thrombocytopenia, hypotension. The etiological diagnosis requires isolation of pathogen from the blood or local site of infection. The Gram staining and culture of the specimen from the site of infection for microbial study was taken. Other relevant laboratory investigations depending upon the requirement were advised accordingly. RESULTS: During six months study period total fifty individuals with sepsis were recruited and studied for detecting the focus of infection. The mean age ±SD for whole population was 55.83±8.95 with male gender predominance 37 (74%). The male gender was predominant 37 (74%), Common co-morbidities observed were diabetes 7(14%), hypertension 5(10%) and chronic liver disease 3(6%). The common source of infection detected were respiratory infection 10(20%), urinary tract infection 8(16%) and wound infection 06(12%). Forty two (84%) patients were recovered while eight (16%) were expired. CONCLUSION: Respiratory and urinary tract infection and wound infections were the most common source of sepsis. KEYWORDS: Septicemia, Infections, Sepsi

Inter-Firm Knowledge Transfer to the Capability of Local Parts Firms in the Malaysian Automobile Industry

The current issue of technology transfer has risen dramatically in the past few years, primary associated with the knowledge transfer. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in the developed countries are the main actors driving of technology and knowledge to developing countries. Thus the organizations in the developing countries are striving hard to create their internal environment that needed to build strong cooperation with MNCs through strategic alliance. A local parts firm in the Malaysian automobile is considered as one of the most important and strategic industries in the manufacturing sector. However this vital sector is facing remarkable challenges, and in the heart of these challenges is the global competition, rapid changes in consumer behavior, shorter product life cycle, and increasingly saturated market.  Thus this industry is eager to gain new technology and knowledge to advance its capability, sustain competitiveness while consolidating their position in the global market place. A survey questionnaire was developed to investigate the impact of knowledge transfer on the capability of local parts firms in this industry. A result from 59 responds asserted that there is a significant relationship between knowledge transfer based on explicit and tacit knowledge on the capability of this industry. Keywords; Inter-firm Knowledge Transfer, Malaysian automobile Industr

Kashmir: The Major Source of Conflict between Pakistan and India

Kashmir is the most serious dispute between Pakistan and India that originated with the British decision to give independence to British India that later divided into two states i.e. Pakistan and India. Being a Muslim majority princely state, the people wanted to join Pakistan. However the non-Muslim ruler of Kashmir opted India. The people of Kashmir revolted against this decision which set the stage for the first Kashmir war between Pakistan and India. Since then India has maintained its control over Kashmir by use of force and a heavy presence of Indian security forces. India and Pakistan fought another war on Kashmir in 1965. Despite India’s coercive policies, Kashmiris continued to resist Indian domination. The current uprising in Kashmir is the latest manifestation of Kashmiri revolt against India. Pakistan and India need to hold talks for a peaceful resolution of Kashmir which is also acceptable to the Kashmiris. They do not want to live under Indian rule and want to decide about the future of Kashmir through plebiscite, as promised in the UN resolutions of 1948-4

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection