The case of islamic banking in Pakistan

Mestrado em FinançasO objetivo deste estudo é explicar por que e quando o sistema bancário islâmico foi introduzido no Paquistão e como os governos paquistaneses estabeleceram e promoveram este sistema. Em 2001, o Banco do Estado do Paquistão emitiu critérios detalhados para a criação de bancos islâmicos. A política adotada pelo banco estatal descreveu que o sistema bancário islâmico deve ser promovido lado-a-lado com o da banca convencional. Como resultado desta política, o Al-Meezan Investment Bank Limited obteve a primeira licença para operar como um banco islâmico de pleno direito em janeiro de 2002. No Paquistão,o sistema de compartilhamento de lucros e perdas é apreciado.Neste trabalho, analisa-se o progresso realizado pelo Paquistão no desenvolvimento do sistema bancário islâmico. É digno de nota que o Paquistão, apesar de todos os seus problemas políticos, sociais e económicos, nunca interrompeu o processo de desenvolvimento do sistema islâmico de finanças e bancos no país. Também-se explica, brevemente, a introdução do Banco Islâmico e a sua importância no mundo atual.The purpose of this thesis is to explain why and when the Islamic banking was introduced in Pakistan and how the Pakistani governments established and promoted this system. In 2001, State Bank of Pakistan issued detailed criteria for setting up of Islamic Banks. The policy given By the state bank described that the Islamic banking should be promoted side-by-side with the conventional banking. As a result of this Policy, Al-Meezan Investment Bank limited was issued the first license to operate as a full-fledged Islamic bank in January, 2002. In Pakistan, people appreciated Profit and loss sharing System. In this paper we analyze the progress made by Pakistan in developing Islamic banking system. It is noteworthy that Pakistan, despite all of its political , social and economic problems , never stopped the process of developing Islamic Finance and Banking system in the country.But still the Islamic banking is not developed according to true principles of Islam and this topic requires further research. This thesis also explains briefly the introduction of Islamic Banking and its importance in the present world.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cathepsin B Induced Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy Requires Activation of The Na+/H+ Exchanger Isoform-1

Multiple studies have demonstrated that proteases, specifically cathepsin B (Cat B) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) contribute to the remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), a hallmark of cardiac hypertrophy (CH). Cat B is activated under acidic conditions, a key stimuli of the Na+/H+ exchanger isoform-1 (NHE1). Enhanced NHE1 expression/activity have also been demonstrated to contribute to the progression of CH. Whether NHE1 contributes to the Cat B hypertrophic response remains unclear. NHE1 activity was stimulated in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts using 10 μM Angiotensin (Ang) II ±10 μM EMD, a NHE1 inhibitor or 10 μM CA-074Me, a Cat B inhibitor and characterized for changes in the cell surface area, protein content and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) mRNA, indices of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. The localization of Cat B in lysosomes was measured using LysoTracker Red dye. The release of Cat B from the intracellular to the extracellular space was assessed by measuring Cat B protein expression in the media. MMP-9 was also measured in the extracellular space and assessed for its contribution to the CAT B hypertrophic response. NHE1 increased the Cat B protein (136.56 ± 9.4% Ang II vs. 100% control, 37 kDa and 169.84 ± 14.24% Ang II vs. 100% control, 25 kDa; P<0.05) and gene expression (288.11 ± 76.72% Ang II vs. 100% control; P<0.05) and induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Furthermore, Cat B protein expression and MMP-9 activity were increased in the extracellular space. These effects was regressed upon inhibition of NHE1 or Cat B. Our study demonstrates for the first time that Cat B is involved in the NHE1 mediated cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response in cooperation with the activation of MMP-9

Reticulocyte Count and Platelet Count as Predictors of Morphological Remission/Hemopoitic Recovery in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) after Induction Chemotherapy

Objectives: To determine the predictive values of reticulocyte and platelet count for remission in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia after induction therapy.   Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the department of hematology, MTI Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. All cases of ALL referred to the department for remission after taking induction therapy, irrespective of age and gender were included. Relevant information wascollected on a predesigned proforma prepared in accordance with the objectives of the study.   Results: A total of 84 cases referred for remission were included, 56(66.7%) were males and 28 (33.3%) were females. 50(59.5%) cases were in the age range of 5-18 years. The mean with a standard deviation of the age of patients was 15+ 4 years. 75(89.3%) of the cases were classified into ALL-1) by FAB classification. 50(59.5%) of the referred cases had achieved morphological remission by bone marrow aspiration. There was a statistically significant rise in Platelet count of the remission vs non-remission cases (p-0.001). Again there was a statistically significant difference in the retic count of the cases with remission (p-0.05). We observed a statically significant downhill moderate correlation ofretic count with remission (in termsof blast count of BM aspiration) (p-0.04, r:-0.32). Platelet count also had an inverse significant correlation with remission ( p-0.01, r:-0.37). The diagnostic roles of the peripheral platelet count and retic yielded an area under curves of (0.768 and 0.648 respectively) to predict remission.We observed that the retic count and platelet count havebeen shown to have strong predictive valuesfor remission in ALL with interaction values of (R= 0.28**, ΔR²=0.02, p=0.08). Similarly, an increase in platelet also has a strong predictive value for remission in ALL cases with interaction values of (R= 0.41**, ΔR²=0.16, p=0.001)   Conclusion: In ALL cases of post-induction therapy, The peripheral blood reading for an increase in Retic and platelet count predictsremission with 95% confidence. These values if strictly observed can reduce the frequency of invasive procedures like bone marrow aspiration.   Keywords: ALL, Remission, Reticulocyte count, Platelet count

Reticulocyte Count and Platelet Count as Predictors of Morphological Remission/Hemopoitic Recovery in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) after Induction Chemotherapy

Objectives: To determine the predictive values of reticulocyte and platelet count for remission in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia after induction therapy.   Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the department of hematology, MTI Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar. All cases of ALL referred to the department for remission after taking induction therapy, irrespective of age and gender were included. Relevant information wascollected on a predesigned proforma prepared in accordance with the objectives of the study.   Results: A total of 84 cases referred for remission were included, 56(66.7%) were males and 28 (33.3%) were females. 50(59.5%) cases were in the age range of 5-18 years. The mean with a standard deviation of the age of patients was 15+ 4 years. 75(89.3%) of the cases were classified into ALL-1) by FAB classification. 50(59.5%) of the referred cases had achieved morphological remission by bone marrow aspiration. There was a statistically significant rise in Platelet count of the remission vs non-remission cases (p-0.001). Again there was a statistically significant difference in the retic count of the cases with remission (p-0.05). We observed a statically significant downhill moderate correlation ofretic count with remission (in termsof blast count of BM aspiration) (p-0.04, r:-0.32). Platelet count also had an inverse significant correlation with remission ( p-0.01, r:-0.37). The diagnostic roles of the peripheral platelet count and retic yielded an area under curves of (0.768 and 0.648 respectively) to predict remission.We observed that the retic count and platelet count havebeen shown to have strong predictive valuesfor remission in ALL with interaction values of (R= 0.28**, ΔR²=0.02, p=0.08). Similarly, an increase in platelet also has a strong predictive value for remission in ALL cases with interaction values of (R= 0.41**, ΔR²=0.16, p=0.001)   Conclusion: In ALL cases of post-induction therapy, The peripheral blood reading for an increase in Retic and platelet count predictsremission with 95% confidence. These values if strictly observed can reduce the frequency of invasive procedures like bone marrow aspiration.   Keywords: ALL, Remission, Reticulocyte count, Platelet count

Agricultural Land Expansion and Food Security in Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis

This study empirically investigates the impact of agricultural land, urbanization, GDP, food import, and credit to the agricultural sector on food security in Pakistan. The study employs Auto Regressive Distributive Lag Model (ARDL) bound testing procedure to estimate the impact of these factors on food security from the period1990 to 2016. Following the literature, we have employed two dimensions of food security: food availability and food accessibility. Food availability is measured by food supply (kcal/capita/day) while food accessibility is measured by food price indices. The results indicate that agricultural land, GDP growth, and credit to the agricultural sector have a positive and an increase in urban population has a negative impact on both dimensions of food security however, food imports have a positive impact on food availability and a negative on food accessibility in the country

Geographical Evaluation of Socio-economic Condition of Sargodha City to Measure Urban Poverty

The current study presents the socio economic conditions of people of Sargodha city to analyze the urban poverty level. Research was accomplished during the year of 2016-2018. Urban poverty is a burning social issue in world when a person do not succeeds to carry out his family needs and wants. A survey was conducted in eleven different colonies and 188 households were visited. Poverty level was scrutinized according to international poverty line less than 1 Dollar per day. During the field survey it was perceived that 17 percent of the households have income of less than 1 Dollar per day and they were real poor. Different parameters were examined like slums, dependency ratio, income, transportation, drinking water scheme, sewerage system and literacy rate. These parameters have compared with poverty to analyze the affordability and living condition of people. It was examined that there were several reasons for poverty in city like unemployment / low income, less education, high dependency ratio etc. Most of the people have large families but low income due to not as much of education and more dependent people in households. It was also suggested that Government should make better living conditions for people by providing technical skills to uneducated person to diminish unemployment and should advance the sanitation problems for better lifestyle

Geographical Evaluation of Socio-economic Condition of Sargodha City to Measure Urban Poverty

The current study presents the socio economic conditions of people of Sargodha city to analyze the urban poverty level. Research was accomplished during the year of 2016-2018. Urban poverty is a burning social issue in world when a person do not succeeds to carry out his family needs and wants. A survey was conducted in eleven different colonies and 188 households were visited. Poverty level was scrutinized according to international poverty line less than 1 Dollar per day. During the field survey it was perceived that 17 percent of the households have income of less than 1 Dollar per day and they were real poor. Different parameters were examined like slums, dependency ratio, income, transportation, drinking water scheme, sewerage system and literacy rate. These parameters have compared with poverty to analyze the affordability and living condition of people. It was examined that there were several reasons for poverty in city like unemployment / low income, less education, high dependency ratio etc. Most of the people have large families but low income due to not as much of education and more dependent people in households. It was also suggested that Government should make better living conditions for people by providing technical skills to uneducated person to diminish unemployment and should advance the sanitation problems for better lifestyle

Correlating CT Chest with RT-PCR in Diagnosing COVID-19: Experience at a Tertiary Health Care Hospital in Pakistan

Objective: To establish the accuracy of computed tomography(CT) chest in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia by taking reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) as a reference standard and to analyze discordant CT chest and RT-PCR results. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of patients presented to a tertiary health care hospital in Punjab, Pakistan for CT examination with suspicion of COVID-19 from April 1, to June 30, 2020. Each CT chest was categorized as positive/negative for COVID-19 pneumonia and the results were compared with the RT-PCR test. Discordant CT chest and PCR results were also investigated. Results: The study population had a mean age of 48 years ± 6.6 years with 54.5% males and 45.4% females. Sensitivity(Sn), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy of CT in diagnosing COVID-19 pneumonia taking RT- PCR as the gold standard was 92.5%, 46.6%%, 82.2%, 70%, and 80% respectively. Conclusion: CT chest has high sensitivity but modest specificity in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia. It can be employed as an adjunctive screening and diagnostic test for early diagnosis of disease in places where disease prevalence is high

Generation of miniploid cells and improved natural transformation procedure for a model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942

The biotechnologically important and naturally transformable cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, possesses multiple genome copies irrespective of its growth rate or condition. Hence, segregating mutations across all genome copies typically takes several weeks. In this study, Synechococcus 7942 cultivation on a solid growth medium was optimised using different concentrations of agar, the addition of antioxidants, and overexpression of the catalase gene to facilitate the rapid acquisition of colonies and fully segregated lines. Synechococcus 7942 was grown at different temperatures and nutritional conditions. The miniploid cells were identified using flow cytometry and fluorimetry. The natural transformation was carried out using miniploid cells and validated with PCR and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We identified that 0.35% agar concentration and 200 IU of catalase could improve the growth of Synechococcus 7942 on a solid growth medium. Furthermore, overexpression of a catalase gene enhanced the growth rate and supported diluted culture to grow on a solid medium. Our results reveal that high temperature and phosphate-depleted cells contain the lowest genome copies (2.4 ± 0.3 and 1.9 ± 0.2) and showed the potential to rapidly produce fully segregated mutants. In addition, higher antibiotic concentrations improve the selection of homozygous transformants while maintaining similar genome copies at a constant temperature. Based on our observation, we have an improved cultivation and natural transformation protocol for Synechococcus 7942 by optimising solid media culturing, generating low-ploidy cells that ultimately reduced the time required for the complete segregation of engineered lines