Paul Roberts (ed). The End of Food. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Bosten. 2009. xv+330 pages. (Price not given).

The modern food economy has evolved over time. The calorie dense food (meat) has taken the place of plants and a technologically driven agriculture system has replaced the traditional food system. Several factors such as industrial revolution, opening of trade, end of communism, female market participation and technological change have contributed in shaping the rules of modern food production system. The endless efforts of the scientists geared towards discoveries has led to a green revolution in the field of agriculture and have done enough to untrue the earlier predictions of mass famine by Thomas Malthus. However, all such man made progress has not done much to resolve challenges of food security, food economy liberalisation and food safety being faced by every country today. This book presents well researched answers to questions raised at every forum on global food security such as; how did the primitive food system evolve into its present shape, what has motivated less spending on food, what has promoted the idea of convenience food in retail business, what has led to technology driven revolution in agriculture output, what radical steps are needed to escape from evils of hunger and malnutrition in the present world, what provokes food producers in developed countries to rule out unfettered functioning of food trade, and finally what turns around the progress that has ever been made in agriculture

What Inspires Electricity Crises at the Micro Level: Empirical Evidence from Electricity Consumption Pattern of Households from Karachi

With urbanisation1 and modernisation of the economy, the use of electrical appliances has increased manifold in Pakistan. Now, household shares in the total electricity use account for 46.5 percent. While other users have lower shares that are industrial 27.5 percent, agriculture 11.6 percent, commercial 7.5 percent and the government 6.2 percent only [Pakistan (2012-13)]. Overtime, the household electricity consumption has also increased because of the increase in electricity consumers2 and of village electrification.3 Other important reasons include the use of modern appliances including both locally made and smuggled and increase in the share of urban women in the labour force by 6.5 percent during 2007-08 and 2012- 13 [Pakistan (2012-13)]. These reasons are also responsible for enlarging electricity demand and supply gap over the years and have led to the electricity shortage to alarming proportions in March 2012. The electricity gap increased to 57,754 GW from 56,930 GW showing an increase of 1.4 percent from the corresponding period of the last year. The acute electricity shortage has caused long hours of the electricity load shedding in the country. The population living in urban areas bears the direct fall out of the electricity breakdown because of the modern lifestyle and sheer dependence on electricity [Pakistan (2012-13)]

Perception of shisha smoking & drug abuse Among university students of Karachi

Tobacco smoking in the form of cigarettes and shisha hasbecome a sign of modernization and trend among youth for pleasant and relaxing experience. Drug addiction is the most common problem in young ones nowadays causing craving practices and long-term consequences includesdisturbances in physical and mental health

Prevalence of stress and depression among University students of Karachi

Stress is an all-time concerned issue in undergraduate students. Stress levels are high due to workload, pressure of academic and extra-curricular activities and unhealthy lifestyle. Though stress can be beneficial for academic growth but increased magnitude can be harmful for physiological, psychological and social aspects

The Protective Effects of Urtica Dioica against CCl4 Induced Hepatotoxity in Rats

The present study was designed to investigate the preventing effects of Urtica dioica (UD) against liver fibrosis and cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in male wistar rats. Cirrhosis is the final stage of chronic liver disease and leading cause of death worldwide. Urtica dioica is a medicinal plant with anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anti-carcinogenic activities. The healthy age matched male wistar albino rats were used in the study. In this study 24 male albino wistar rats were divided in to four groups (n=6). Group I remained healthy control rats, group II , received CCl4 (0.8 ml/Kg b.w, s.c, for 8 weeks, twice a week), group III received CCl4 (0.8 ml/Kg b.w, s.c, for 8 weeks, twice a week) together with UD(2 ml/kg UD extract i.p daily for 8 weeks), group IV received UD(2 ml/kg UD extract i.p daily for 8 weeks) . Biochemical analysis included total bilirubin, liver enzymes, antioxidant enzymes & MDA.The sixty day treatment of rats with CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity as indicated by enhanced liver enzymes, lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant enzyme levels in CCl4 treated group compared with the control group. Urtica Dioica treatment for sixty days decreased hepatotoxic effects of CCl4 by significantly reducing the elevated liver enzyme, lipid peroxidation and raised the decreased antioxidant levels. The body weights of Group II,III &IV groups were reduced whereas maintained in group I. The histologic findings indicated portal and periportal fibrosis in CCl4 treated rats with 40% degenerative hepatocytes whereas UD treatment together with CCl4 indicated slight periportal fibrosis, fatty changes with no degenerative hepatocytes

Parents’ Perception of Education and Choice of Childhood Activities: Evidence from Pakistan

We investigate parents’ perceptions of various educational systems and their impact on the decision to either send their children to school, or engage them in other childhood activities. Childhood activities are categorised as follows: secular schooling, religious (non- secular schooling), child labour, child labour combined with secular schooling, and leisure (inactivity). The paper uses the household survey data of 2,496 children, 963 households, and 40 villages in Pakistan. A Multinomial Probit Model analysed the impact of various socio- economic variables on the likelihood of choosing an activity for children. Results indicate that the following factors influence the parents’ decisions in selection of activities for their children: the parents’ level of education, mother’s relative authority in household decisions, degree of religiosity of the head of household, beliefs in tribal norms, household income, and proximity to the school. The findings provide insignificant evidence to support the “luxury axiom” hypothesis that children only work when their families are unable to meet their basic needs

Income Inequality, Redistribution of Income and Trade Openness

Literature on nexus between trade openness and government spending is impressive [Atif, et al. (2012), Rudra (2004), Dani (1997) and McGuire (1999)]. The literature is growing rapidly. Analysts have documented the positive effects of government social spending [see for example Mesa-Lago (1994); Huber (1996); Weyland (1996); McGuire (1999)]. Unfortunately, Pakistan lacks empirical evidences on the impact of government social spending. Although Government of Pakistan has taken number of initiatives to have some form of redistribution policies, however, inequality in Pakistan is higher as compared to other Least Developed Countries that are open to trade. This situation is alarming. This paper therefore tries to identify the nexus between trade openness and social spending for the period 1975–2012. International evidence suggests that government social spending influences poverty and distribution of income. Pakistan‘s low level achievement in terms of reducing inequality, given the likely adverse economic impact of trade openness, point towards the fact that government has to design the policy in such a way that it affects the distribution of income. Thus, exploring the effect of social spending on income inequality is necessary for the concerned policy makers

Prevalence of risk factors promoting Diabetic neuropathy .

Diabetic neuropathy is the worst consequence of diabetes mellitus leading to nerve dysfunction that is the cause of several complications such as pain, loss of sensitivity, damage to body systems, foot ulcers, morbidity and amputations etc. The aim of the present work was to study the prevalence of risk factors and occurrence of diabetic neuropathy in patients with diabetes, and how much diabetic neuropathy complications affect the life of diabetic patients

Formulation design and evaluation of Cefuroxime axetil 125 mg immediate release tablets using different concentration of sodium lauryl sulphate as solubility enhancer

Formularam-se comprimidos de liberação imediata à base de cefuroxima axetil, pelo método de compressão direta, com diferentes percentagens de lauril sulfato de sódio (LSS), tais como 0,5, 1,0, 1,5, e também sem SLS. Os lotes resultantes dos comprimidos foram avaliados por ambos os métodos da farmacopeia e não farmacopeicos para determinar as propriedades físico-mecânicas. O teste de dissolução foi realizado em meios diferentes, como HCl 0,07 M, água destilada, HCl 0,1 M com pH 1,2 e os tampões fosfato (pH 4,5 e 6,8) para observar a liberação do fármaco contra a correspondente concentração de LSS utilizado. Em seguida, as formulações de teste foram comparadas por fatores f1 (dissimilaridade) e f2 (similaridade), utilizando uma marca de referência de cefuroxima axetil. Diferenças significativas (pCefuroxime axetil immediate release tablets were formulated by direct compression method with different percentages of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) such as 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and also without SLS. Resulting batches of tablets were evaluated by both pharmacopeial and non-pharmacopeial methods to ascertain the physico-mechanical properties. Dissolution test were carried out in different medium like 0.07 M HCl, distilled water, 0.1M HCl of pH 1.2 and phosphate buffers at pH 4.5 and 6.8 to observe the drug release against the respective concentration of SLS used. Later, test formulations were compared by f1 (dissimilarity) and f2 (similarity) factors using a reference brand of cefuroxime axetil. Significant differences (