Impact of Higher Education on Economic Growth of Pakistan

This paper investigates the returns of higher education on economic growth of Pakistan from 1972 to 2008 through the application of Cobb-Douglas production function. The prime objective of the study is to identify and establish a link between the higher education and economic growth of Pakistan. For this purpose the impact of higher education enrollment on economic growth is analyzed. An attempt is made, in this study, to analyze the educational trends, the strategies and challenges for higher educational and its role in overall development in the country. Furthermore, the study also delves that a well educated labor force appears to significantly affluence the economic growth. The research also provides some implications for the policy purpose to develop higher education so as to curb the use of expatriate manpower in different sectors of the economy.Education: Economic Growth: Cobb Douglas PF

Impact of Higher Education on Economic Growth of Pakistan

This paper investigates the returns of higher education on economic growth of Pakistan from 1972 to 2008 through the application of Cobb-Douglas production function. The prime objective of the study is to identify and establish a link between the higher education and economic growth of Pakistan. For this purpose the impact of higher education enrollment on economic growth is analyzed. An attempt is made, in this study, to analyze the educational trends, the strategies and challenges for higher educational and its role in overall development in the country. Furthermore, the study also delves that a well educated labor force appears to significantly affluence the economic growth. The research also provides some implications for the policy purpose to develop higher education so as to curb the use of expatriate manpower in different sectors of the economy

Impact of Higher Education on Economic Growth of Pakistan

This paper investigates the returns of higher education on economic growth of Pakistan from 1972 to 2008 through the application of Cobb-Douglas production function. The prime objective of the study is to identify and establish a link between the higher education and economic growth of Pakistan. For this purpose the impact of higher education enrollment on economic growth is analyzed. An attempt is made, in this study, to analyze the educational trends, the strategies and challenges for higher educational and its role in overall development in the country. Furthermore, the study also delves that a well educated labor force appears to significantly affluence the economic growth. The research also provides some implications for the policy purpose to develop higher education so as to curb the use of expatriate manpower in different sectors of the economy

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as potential ecto-nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors

Phosphodiesterases (PDE) are group of enzymes which catalyze the hydrolysis of cAMP and cGMP. Since these cyclic phosphate moieties worked as intracellular second messengers in numerous physiological processes, their inhibition can affect normal physiology of living system. NSAIDs are among the frequently prescribed medications, because of their efficacy as analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agents. They are known to block cyclooxygenase pathway. In limited data NSAIDs has been shown anti-tumor potential, and phosphodiesterase inhibition has assumed to be one of the mechanism. To date no further evaluation being done. Further, NSAIDs are classified as cyclooxygenase inhibitors and phosphodiesterase inhibition can imprint its side effects. This study first time investigates the effects of NSAIDs on phosphodiesterase 1 inhibition. The activity against snake venom phosphodiesterase 1 was assayed on a microtitre plate reader spectrophotometer. Selective COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib, exhibited a potent PDE1 inhibitory activity, at therapeutic doses, with an IC50 value of 29.4 µM. The findings of our study are indicative of new pharmacological actions of cyclooxygenase inhibitors. This article presents the PDE inhibitory properties as a new effects of already existing drugs. These additional effects could be potentially helpful for researchers to assess other physiological and pathological states

Inhibitors of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase: effects on reactive oxygen species and platelet aggregation

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) exists in cells as a family of isoforms. The enzymes are important regulators of fundamental metabolic processes, such as energy utilization, growth, cell proliferation and survival. They are activated by cell surface receptors for hormones, and by G-protein coupled receptors. Enzyme p110 gamma, in particular, catalyzes production of second messengers from inositol phospholipids, including phosphoinositide (3,4,5) triphosphate or PtdIns (3,4,5) P3, PtdIns (3,4) P2 and Ptdins (3) P. The objective of this study was to corroborate the role of PI 3 kinase in ROS generation and in platelet aggregation through the use of four chemically unrelated inhibitors of PI 3 kinase: wortmannin, LY-294002, resveratrol and quercetin. In this study, we describe the effects of four PI 3-kinase inhibitors on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and platelet aggregation induced by a diversity of agonists. Neutrophils and platelets were obtained from human blood and macrophages from mouse peritoneal cavity. ROS production was measured by a luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence assay; aggregation was measured in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with a Chronolog Dual Channel Lumi-Aggregometer. Effects of graded concentrations of four enzyme inhibitors (wortmannin, LY-294002, resveratrol and quercetin) were evaluated. All inhibitors caused concentration-dependent depression of ROS generation and human platelet aggregation. They differed only in their potencies as revealed by concentration-response data. Moreover, inhibitors blocked activity of three chemically unrelated stimulants of aggregation: ADP, collagen and epinephrine. We conclud

Lignans from Tujia Ethnomedicine Heilaohu: Chemical Characterization and Evaluation of Their Cytotoxicity and Antioxidant Activities

Heilaohu, the roots of Kadsura coccinea, has a long history of use in Tujia ethnomedicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and gastroenteric disorders, and a lot of work has been done in order to know the material basis of its pharmacological activities. The chemical investigation led to the isolation and characterization of three new (1–3) and twenty known (4–23) lignans. Three new heilaohulignans A-C (1–3) and seventeen known (4–20) lignans possessed dibenzocyclooctadiene skeletons. Similarly, one was a diarylbutane (21) and two were spirobenzofuranoid dibenzocyclooctadiene (22–23) lignans. Among the known compounds, 4–5, 7, 13–15 and 17–22 were isolated from this species for the first time. The structures were established, using IR, UV, MS and NMR data. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were determined by circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The isolated lignans were further evaluated for their cytotoxicity and antioxidant activities. Compound 3 demonstrated strong cytotoxic activity with an IC50 value of 9.92 µM, compounds 9 and 13 revealed weak cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 21.72 µM and 18.72 µM, respectively in the HepG-2 human liver cancer cell line. Compound 3 also showed weak cytotoxicity against the BGC-823 human gastric cancer cell line and the HCT-116 human colon cancer cell line with IC50 values of 16.75 µM and 16.59 µM, respectively. A chemiluminescence assay for antioxidant status of isolated compounds implied compounds 11 and 20, which showed weak activity with IC50 values of 25.56 µM and 21.20 µM, respectively

New Cadinane Sesquiterpenes from the Stems of <i>Kadsura heteroclita</i>

As part of our continual efforts to exploit &#8216;Tujia Ethnomedicine&#8217; for their pharmacophoric functionalities, we herein investigated Kadsura heteroclita collected from a deep Wulin mountain area in northern Hunan province. The current study resulted in the isolation of three new sesquiterpenes: 6&#945;,9&#945;,15-trihydroxycadinan-4-en-3-one (1), (+)-3,11,12-trihydroxycalamenene (2), (&#8722;)-3,10,11,12-tetrahydroxy-calamenene (3), along with four known sesquiterpenes (4&#8722;7), and a cytochalasin H (8). Their chemical structures were elucidated by 1D-, and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, and HRESI-MS, CD spectrometry. The antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities of the compounds were evaluated. Compound 8 exhibited a strong antioxidant effect with an IC50 value of 3.67 &#181;M on isolated human polymorphonuclear cells or neutrophils