How Government Policy and Demographics affect Money Demand Function in Bangladesh

Abstract. Money demand has a key position in macroeconomics generally and monetary economics particularly. The improved economic condition of any country is a sign of increasing money demand and deteriorating economic climate is a sign of decreasing money demand (Maravic & Palic, 2005). In this study, Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach of co-integration developed by Pesaran et al., (2001) is used to estimate the money demand function. Real interest rate, GDP per capita, exchange rate, fiscal deficit, urban and rural population are selected to determine money demand function in Bangladesh over the period from 1975-2013. The co-integration analysis reveals that interest rate and per capita GDP exerts significant effect upon money demand both in long run and short run as well. Both urban and rural population have significant effect on money demand in the long run and short run and money demand function is found stable over time.Keywords. Bangladesh, Money demand, Per Capita GDP, Real interest rate, Exchange rate, Fiscal deficit, Urban and Rural Population.JEL. E41, G18, N30

Body Iron Stores Increase Hepatic and Serum Lipid in Rats fed a Standard Western Diet

The liver is the major site for lipoprotein processing and iron storage. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a broad spectrum of chronic liver disorder with progressive factors hypothesized to include impaired hepatic lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. Since iron produces oxidative stress, its excess may lead to lipid peroxidation and hepatocyte damage. We hypothesized that increased hepatic iron in rats fed a western diet would progress NAFLD. We determined the effect of variation in iron on plasma and hepatic lipids and oxidative stress in a rat model without pre-existing liver damage. Rats were fed liquid diets in which 35% of the energy was fat and contained low (STD-), normal (STD) or twice the normal level (STD+) of iron. The STD+ group also received parenteral iron dextran injections. After 5 weeks liver and blood were taken for analysis. Serum cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acids were increased in STD+ compared with STD group. Serum triglyceride in STD+ rats was increased compared with STD-. Histologically the STD+ group showed foci of macrovesicular lipid droplets, whereas hepatic triglyceride was decreased in STD-. Liver expression of lipid responsive gene (SREBP-2, SREBP-1c, HMG CoA reductase, 7α hydroxylase, MTTP1), chemokine (MCP-1) and oxidative stress marker, haemoxygenase-1 mRNA were similar in all groups. There were significant increases in hepatic malondialdehyde and hydroxyalkenal in STD+ compared with STD group. The erythrocytes of STD+ were osmotically fragile compared with the STD group. Increased liver iron affects plasma and hepatic lipids and may progress NAFLD by impairing hepatic fat metabolism

Interactions between hepatic iron and lipid metabolism with possible relevance to steatohepatitis

The liver is an important site for iron and lipid metabolism and the main site for the interactions between these two metabolic pathways. Although conflicting results have been obtained, most studies support the hypothesis that iron plays a role in hepatic lipogenesis. Iron is an integral part of some enzymes and transporters involved in lipid metabolism and, as such, may exert a direct effect on hepatic lipid load, intrahepatic metabolic pathways and hepatic lipid secretion. On the other hand, iron in its ferrous form may indirectly affect lipid metabolism through its ability to induce oxidative stress and inflammation, a hypothesis which is currently the focus of much research in the field of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH). The present review will first discuss how iron might directly interact with the metabolism of hepatic lipids and then consider a new perspective on the way in which iron may have a role in the two hit hypothesis for the progression of NAFLD via ferroportin and the iron regulatory molecule hepcidin. The review concludes that iron has important interactions with lipid metabolism in the liver that can impact on the development of NAFLD/NASH. More defined studies are required to improve our understanding of these effects. © 2012 Baishideng

Balochistan (From Strategic Significance to US Involvement)

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan in terms of landmass and is the least literate. It became a part of Pakistan, when the British withdrawal took place on August 14, 1947 yet got the status of province after 23 years in 1972. Needless to say that it has been overlooked since the British rule. But it isimportant to note that the location of Balochistan, connecting Iranian Plateau with South East Asia, Central Asia to its long coast line in the shores of the Arabian Sea, makes it geographically an important place. In the recent months, Balochistan has come into limelight in the international media and the resistance movements have risen to the extent where the Baloch are demanding liberation and separation. It is very much evident that the geo-policies of Balochistan, internal contradictions in Baloch society, state response and the foreign hand have aggravated the problems in the province. This paper is an attempt to focus on the strategic significance of Balochistan and how does it provide an opportunity to Baloch nationalists in order to deal with big superpowers for the liberation of the country. The paper aims at discussing, the real factors behind the US interest in Balochistan and how the foreign involvement can be stopped, particularly at a time when it has reached at the brink of separation

Harmonizing disease prevention and police practice in the implementation of HIV prevention programs: Up-stream strategies from Wilmington, Delaware

Abstract Introduction Improving access to sterile injection equipment is a key component in community-based infectious disease prevention. Implementation of syringe access programs has sometimes been complicated by community opposition and police interference. Case description In 2006, the Delaware legislature authorized a pilot syringe exchange program (SEP). A program designed to prevent, monitor, and respond to possible policing and community barriers before they had a chance to effect program implementation and operation. A program designed to prevent, monitor, and respond to these barriers was planned and implemented by a multidisciplinary team of legal practitioners and public health professionals. Discussion We report on an integrated intervention to address structural barriers to syringe exchange program utilization. This intervention employs community, police and client education combined with systematic surveillance of and rapid response to police interference to preempt the kinds of structural barriers to implementation observed elsewhere. The intervention addresses community concerns and stresses the benefits of syringe exchange programs to officer occupational safety. Conclusions A cohesive effort combining collaboration with and educational outreach to police and community members based on the needs and concerns of these groups as well as SEP clients and potential clients helped establish a supportive street environment for the SEP. Police-driven structural barriers to implementation of public health programs targeting populations engaged in drug use and other illicit behavior can be addressed by up-stream planning, prevention, monitoring and intervention strategies. More research is needed to inform the tailoring of interventions to address police-driven barriers to HIV prevention services, especially among marginalized populations.</p

Angiotensin receptor type 1 blockade in astrocytes decreases hypoxia-induced cytotoxicity and inflammation

The present study investigated the role of angiotensin receptors (AT-R) in the survival and inflam- matory response of astroglia upon hypoxic injury. Expo- sure of rat astroglial primary cultures (APC) to hypoxic conditions (HC) led to decreased viability of the cells and to a 3.5-fold increase in TNF-alpha release. AT-R type1 (AT1-R) antagonist losartan and its metabolite EXP3174 decrease the LDH release (by 36 ± 9%; 45 ± 6%) from APC under HC. Losartan diminished TNF-alpha release (by 40 ± 15%) and the number of TUNEL-cells by 204 ± 38% under HC, alone and together with angiotensin II (ATII), while EXP3174 was dependent on ATII for its effect on TNF-alpha. The AT2-R antagonist, PD123.319, did not influence the release of LDH and TNF-alpha under normoxic (NC) and HC. These data suggest that AT1-R may decrease the susceptibility of astrocytes to hypoxic injury and their propensity to release TNF-alpha. AT1-R antagonists may therefore be of therapeutic value during hypoxia-associated neurodegeneration

Auditing with incomplete logs

The protection of sensitive information is of utmost importance for organizations. The complexity and dynamism of modern businesses are forcing a re-think of traditional protection mechanisms. In particular, a priori policy enforcement mechanisms are often complemented with auditing mechanisms that rely on an a posteriori analysis of logs recording users’ activities to prove conformity to policies and detect policy violations when a valid explanation of conformity does not exist. However, existing auditing solutions require that the information necessary to assess policy compliance is available for the analysis. This assumption is not realistic. Indeed, a good deal of users’ activities may not be under the control of the IT system and thus they cannot be logged. In this paper we tackle the problem of accessing policy compliance in presence of incomplete logs. In particular, we present an auditing framework to assist analysts in finding a valid explanation for the events recorded in the logs and to pinpoint policy violations if such an explanation does not exist, when logs are incomplete. We also introduce two strategies for the refinement of plausible explanations of conformity to drive analysts along the auditing process. Our framework has been implemented on top of CIFF, an abductive proof procedure, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the refinement strategies evaluated. Keywords: Abduction, Policy Compliance, Abductive Reasonin