Probing the Nature of Pakistan’s Money Supply

Historic development of monetary economics encompasses two different school of thoughts on functioning of central banks in management of money supply and the level of economic activities, indirectly. “Monetarists” argue that “Money supply is exogenously determined” while “Post Keynesians” claim endogenously determined nature of money supply. In order to explore the real scenario of endogenous nature of money supply, there is a dire need of empirical studies covering different economies at different stages of development. the present study was planned to examine nature of money supply in Pakistan. study period covered a span ranging from 1995 to 2019 and Semi-annual data is used for analysis. Three hypothesis are tested in this study. i.e. accomodationists view, structuralists view and liquidity preference view. variables of the study comprised of monetary base, bank credit, money multiplier, M2 money supply and money income. Co-integration and error correction mechanism (ECM) were applied for determining long run relationships and short run deviations. results revealed that structuralists and liquidity preference view both hold true in case of Pakistan. Liquidity preference view holds true completely; whereas structuralists view was partially supported by the results of our study. &nbsp

Salinity, livelihood and agricultural productivity: A case of Hafizabad District

Background: Soil salinity; concentration and or accumulation of salts may pose severe risk on soil productivity and in turn concerned population and farmers. Salt-influenced lands in Pakistan were spread over 6.63 million hectare which is diminishing the agrarian profitability. This study will explore the impact of salinity on livelihood of farmers in district Hafizabad.Methods: Data of 192 small, medium and large farmers was collected from four randomly selected villages of salinity affected area of Hafizabad district of Punjab province of Pakistan using multistage probability sampling technique. SPSS version 21.0 was utilized to analyze the data for generating logical results.Results: Farmers belonging to saline area communities were characterized on the basis of their education, experience, cultivated area, and method of irrigation and technological adoption for analyzing their livelihood typologies. Average yield of wheat was found to be 26mnds/acre, while marketable surplus was high for large farmers due to ownership of more area. Livelihood typologies were derived mainly from on-farm and off-farm income activities of the farmers. Agriculture farm earning in the saline area was estimated as Rs. 10 to 12 thousand per acre. Contribution of off-farm income in household cash flows was estimated in 79% of small, medium and large farmer as less than 15000 indicating the dependency status of the households.Conclusion: Major livelihood source in Salt-affected soils was still agricultural cash inflows beside their contribution to the food basket of consumers. Farmers were in favour of provision of farming inputs on subsidized rates i.e. lime and gypsum as a poverty alleviation strategy in the area for positive promotion of sharing culture with public sector.    Keywords: Salinity; Livelihood; Productivity; Farming experience; Farm size

Kajian penggunaan internet di kalangan pelajar Universiti Teknologi MARA (Zon Utara) / Mahadi Mahmood ... [et al.]

Kewujudan Internet telah banyak menukar corak kehidupan masyarakat masa kini. Internet telah membolehkan manusia berinteraksi dan mengakses maklumat dengan lebih cepat samada maklumat yang berguna atau pun maklumat yang boleh merosakkan kehidupan masyarakat itu sendiri. Di dalam bidang pendidikan, ledakan maklumat di dalam Internet ditambah dengan kemudahan mengakses maklumat melalui Internet yang semakin mudah menyebabkan penggunaannya semakin hari semakin popular di kalangan pelajar. Penggunaan Internet telah banyak membantu para pelajar dalam menyiapkan sesuatu tugasan dalam bidang pengajian mereka disamping sebagai suatu alat untuk mereka berkomunikasi diantara satu sama lain dengan lebih cepat dan murah. Kajian "Penggunaan Internet Di Kalangan Pelajar UiTM Zon Utara" ini dilakukan dengan matlamat untuk melihat sejauhmana prasarana Internet yang telah disediakan oleh pihak pengurusan UiTM dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya oleh para pelajar dalam bidang pengajian masing-masing. Disamping itu kajian ini juga dapat melihat trend penggunaan Internet di kalangan pelajar samada lebih menjurus kepada aktiviti-aktiviti akademik atau pun lebih kepada rekreasi dan juga penyalahgunaan

Kajian penggunaan internet di kalangan pelajar Universiti Teknologi MARA (zon utara) / Mahadi Mahmood ...[et al.]

Kewujudan internet telah banyak menukar corak kehidupan masyarakat masa kini. Internet telah membolehkan manusia berinteraksi dan mengakses maklumat dengan lebih cepat samada maklumat yang berguna ataupun maklumat yang boleh merosakkan kehidupan masyarakat itu sendiri. Di dalam bidang pendidikan, ledakan maklumat di dalam internet ditambah dengan kemudahan mengakses maklumat melalui internet yang semakin mudah menyebabkan penggunaannya semakin hari semakin popular di kalangan pelajar. Penggunaan internet telah banyak membantu para pelajar dalam menyiapkan sesuatu tugasan dalam bidang pengajian mereka disamping sebagai suatu alat untuk mereka berkomunikasi diantara satu sama lain dengan lebih cepat dan murah. Kajian “Penggunaan Internet Di Kalangan Pelajar UiTM Zon Utara” ini dilakukan dengan matlamat untuk melihat sejauhmana prasarana internet yang telah disediakan oleh pihak pengurusan UiTM dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya oleh para pelajar dalam bidang pengajian masing-masing. Disamping itu kajian ini juga dapat melihat trend penggunaan internet di kalangan pelajar samada lebih menjurus kepada aktiviti-aktiviti akademik atau pun lebih kepada rekreasi dan juga penyalahgunaan

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries