Foreign Direct Investment, Exports, and Domestic Output in Pakistan

The impact of the policy reform on economic performance has been one of the stifling issues in development economics in the recent years. Since the middle 1970s, there has been considerable progress in the trade reform in the most developing countries, turning from an import substitution strategy to export-oriented approach. Pakistan also follows export-oriented policies. Pakistan’s trade pattern and trade policy have been moving towards fewer and fewer controls, tariffs rates have come tumbling down. Export-led-growth hypothesis (ELG) suggests that due to positive correlation between export and growth, therefore, export-oriented policies contribute to economic growth. Thus, international trade and development theory suggests that export growth contributes positively to economic growth. On the basis of this framework, most empirical work on the effects of export promoting strategy followed in developing countries evaluated openness with trade. Empirical research about the effect of this liberalisation process has treated export as principal channel for growth. The relationship with exports and growth, grounded in endogenous growth theory, has been tested for Pakistan.

A Study of Murshidabad District 1765-1793.

This thesis is a study of Murshidabad District, in Western Bengal, during the years 1765 to 1793. Its purpose is to examine how Murshidabad was affected by the rise of the English East India Company to power in Bengal at the expense of the Nawabs who had made Murshidabad city their capital and centre of administration. The introductory chapter establishes the extent of the District during the eighteenth century and narrates the history of the city's growth as a great trading centre and administrative headquarters. Chapter II deals with the markets and trade of Murshidabad city and of the principal river ports around it, and examines the pattern of exports and imports of the District. Chapter III is devoted to the manufactures of Murshidabad, especially the silk industry, and discusses the causes of their decline. Chapter IV describes the pattern of inland customs, the growth in this period of zamindari chaukis and lakhiraj ganjes and the attempt to abolish them, and analyses the new customs regulations promulgated by the Company and the extent of their success. Chapter V discusses the nature of the banking and currency systems in Bengal, with special emphasis on the changing part played by the local business houses. Chapter VI studies the size, importance and organisation of the Nawab's household. The decline in the political and financial fortunes of the Nawabs is examined, and the consequences for the District of that decline. Chapter VII attempts a general survey of the economic life of Murshidabad. Attention is particularly directed to the effect of the famine of 1769-70, of the transfer of the provincial capital to Calcutta with its consequent loss of employment opportunities in Murshidabad, and to changes in the levels of incomes and prices. The Conclusion reviews the decline of Murshidabad as a centre of administration and industry and ends with a picture of its position at the turn of the century

Study of Morphological, Electrical and Optical behaviour of Amorphous Chalcogenide Semiconductor

Amorphous chalcogenide semiconductor plays a key role in search for novel functional materials with excellent optical and electrical properties. The science of chalcogenide semiconductor (CS) show broad spectrum of soluble alloy and a wider band gap device that access the optimal energy bandgap. The electronic properties of these alloys can be tuned by controlling the proportion of (S, Se, Te). The chalcogenide semiconducting (CS) alloys are promising candidates because of low band gap (1.0–1.6 eV) and high extinction coefficient in the visible region of solar spectrum. The band structure of amorphous semiconductor governed the transport properties and evaluates various factors such as Tauc gap, defect states, mobility edges. In the extended and localized state of amorphous semiconductor an electron goes various transition, absorption/emission, transport which is due to drift and diffusion under DC electric fields. CS, including sulfides, selenides, and tellurides, have been broadly utilized in variety of energy conversion and storage devices for example, solar cells, fuel cells, light-emitting diodes, IR detector, Li/Na-ion batteries, supercapacitors, thermoelectric devices, etc. Here, we report various morphological electrical, structural, and optical properties of InSeS thin films prepared by Melt Quenching thermal evaporation technique

Smokeless Tobacco Use: A Risk Factor for Hyperhomocysteinemia in a Pakistani Population

Background Smokeless tobacco (ST) use is highly prevalent in the South Asian populations. While there have been a number of reports on association of ST consumption with cancer, very few studies have been conducted to investigate its relationship with cardiovascular disease. Hyperhomocysteinemia is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, its association with ST use has never been investigated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship of ST use with hyperhomocysteinemia in an urban Pakistani population. Methodology/Principal Findings In a cross-sectional study for assessment of risks of hyperhomocysteinemia, 872 healthy adults (355 males and 517 females of age range 18–60 years) were recruited from a low-income population in Karachi, Pakistan. A detailed questionnaire was administered which included information about smoking, non-smoking, use of ST alone (chewing as well as sniffing) and use of ST with betel nuts. Fasting serum/plasma levels of homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12 and pyridoxal phosphate (PLP; a coenzymic form of vitamin B6) were analyzed. In this population, 43.4% males and 15.5% females were found to be regular users of ST products. Laborers and vendors were the major ST consumers. Smoking was not found to be associated with plasma/serum concentrations of homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12 and PLP. However, homocysteine concentrations in the group which consumed ST alone and the group which consumed ST along with betel nut were significantly higher compared to the non-user group (17.7±7.5 µmol/L, 25.48 µmol/L vs. 11.95 µmol/L, respectively; p\u3c0.01). Odds ratio for the association of hyperhomocysteinemia (\u3e15 µmol/L) was 11-fold higher in the ST-consumer group compared to the non-user group, [OR (95%CI) =11.34 (7.58–16.96); p\u3c0.001], when the model was adjusted for age, gender, folate and vitamin B12 status. Conclusion This study shows a positive association between ST consumption and hyperhomocysteinemia in a low-income urban Pakistani population

Another D in MUDPILES? A Review of Diet-Associated Nondiabetic Ketoacidosis.

Ketogenic diet or very-low-carbohydrate diet gained widespread popularity in the 1990s due to their favorable effects on weight loss and diabetes among others with good short-term safety data. People on ketogenic diets exist in a state of dietary ketosis in which the body production of ketone is equal to consumption and no harmful effects of ketonemia occur. However, in face of stress, the harmless dietary ketosis can lead to profound acid-base disturbances due to massive overproduction of ketone bodies that overwhelms the acid buffer system of the body. A handful of case reports have been published on this topic calling the safety of ketogenic diet into question. In this article, we chronicle a unique case of ketogenic (Atkins) diet-associated ketoacidosis, and we present a comprehensive literature review on the etiology of ketoacidosis

Population Study, Length-weight Relationship, Size and Movement of Acrossocheilus Deauratus (euvier & Valenciennes) in Two Malaysian Streams

A survey of the population estimation of'ikan daun' (Acrossocheilus deauratus) on Sungai Batu and Sungai Tua in Selangor, Malaysia was done. A small stretch of 1.5 km each in Sungai Batu and Sungai Tua represented 3,969 and 1,932 'ikan daun' respectively. The length of the fishes varies from 53-115 mm and the length-weight relationship was represented by the formulae: Sungai Batu, Loge W = Log e 0.0006 + 2.2956 Log e L, and Sungai TZ!a, Loge W = Loge 0.0001 + 2.7003 Loge L. Ecological conditions in Sungai Batu were favourable for the 'ikan daun' population. There is no evidence of shoal movements occurring in these two streams but some individual movement did occur

Monitoring Population Parameters for Fisheries Management: I. Species Composition, Abundance and Distribution Patterns of Fishes in Paya Bungor

A one year direct monitoring study offish populations was conducted in Paya Bungor. The lake comprised 12 families and 43 species of freshwater fishes. The cyprinids dominated the fish community, contributing to about 54% followed by the catfishes (16%). More species were recorded in the northern part of the lake. Riverzne species accounted for more than 80% of the species composition in Paya Bungor. A high percentage of predatory species (49%) was also observed. Amblyrhynchichthys truncatus was the most abundant species (33%) followed by Thynnichthys thynnoides (20%) and Puntius schwanenfeldii (18%). Together with 12 other cyprinids, they made up more than 90% of the total catch. Catfishes, comprising 7 species constituted only 1.4%. The general pattern of seasonal abundance indicate that more fishes are found in the months of January, March, June and September while less fish occur in the months of February, May, August and September. This pattern zs relat.ed tv fluctuations in water levels, WL, water temperature, T, and conductivity, C, as exemplified by the equation: Population abundance, p = -886 + 135 WL + 23.77 T - 0.151 C. The heterogenous fish population in Paya Bungor exhibit spatial and temporal patterns of distribution. The species in Paya Bungor are log-normally distributed with the distribution curve as follows: . 2 S(R) = 5.366 exp -(0.365

Observations on the Growth of Young Tinfoil Barb, Puntius schwanenfeldii (Bleeker) Fed with Pellet Feeds

A study was conducted to test the suitability of four feeds formulated from agricultural by-products for tinfoil barb fry. The crude protein levels in feeds 1, 2, 3 and 4 'were 14.5, 18.6,.16.9 and 13.1 per cent respectively. F1Sh fed diet 2 attained maximum growth compared to fishes fed other diets (P < O.O5)

Re-evaluation on Causes of Circular Knitting Machine Production Efficiency and their Impact on Fabric Quality

The productivity of knitting machine depends on yarn type and its quality, knitting parameters, operating conditions, workplace safety measures, and motivational factors of workforce. For several reasons, knitting machine can stop working and the production process is interrupted. In this paper, it was found that the main reason for yarn breakage is the condition of the working environment in which it operates. Yarn breakage is not only responsible for production losses, but it also creates quality problems on fabric texture. Quality is money as it is interlinked with reputation. In order to survive in a competitive market, it is important to analyse and resolve the root causes which can hamper production efficiency. Environmental factors are involved with knitted fabric production efficiency. Less production efficiency enhances more power consumption and other utilities. As a consequence, the cost of pollution on our environment is rising. This paper shows that causes of production loss and efficiency interruptions is due to different conditions of working environment and other facilities which can motivate employees to work efficiently in their workstations