Admission and Visa process of Norway for Pakistani Students

This is a brief guide over the process of admission and visa to Norway for students from Pakistan

Guide for studying in Austria for Pakistani students

This document contains information on admission and visa process for Austria, for students from Pakistan. The reason to write this document is the lack of information about Austria, as very few Pakistani students come here. Also, Austrian embassy (in Islamabad) does not clarify much about any matters related to the visa process and the residence permit application for students. Apparently, the authorities at the Embassy do not even know about the procedure for proving your financial status to the authorities in Austria. At least, they don’t clarify this enough.  This makes the visa process more difficult. That is why we decided to write this document and categorically elaborate each step for admission and visa, for Austria.Â

Political Manipulation in Human Rights Violations: A Case of Honor Killings in Balochistan, Pakistan

This is our analysis of the political implications of a sepcific case of honor killing in Balochistan, Pakistan

The predictive effect of body mass index on type 2 diabetes in the Norwegian women and cancer study

Background Several studies have analyzed the association of body mass index (BMI) with either the prevalence or incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but no study from Europe or North America has yet analyzed and compared the association of BMI with both incident and prevalent T2D cases. Methods Stratified logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR), and stratified Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) of the effect of BMI on the prevalence, and incidence of T2D. Wald chi-square statistics were applied when comparing the risk estimates. Results Among prevalent T2D cases, overweight women (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2) had an OR of 2.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.92-4.18) and obese women (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) had an OR of 12.12 (95% CI, 8.32-17.68) when compared with normal weight women (BMI <25 kg/m2). Among incident T2D cases, overweight women had a HR of 5.01 (95% CI, 3.59-6.98) and obese women had a HR of 15.99 (95% CI, 11.39-22.46) when compared with normal weight women. After stratification by level of physical activity, and adjustment for age, smoking status, and education level, the Wald chi-square statistic for BMI was 180.90 for prevalent T2D cases, and 262.03 for incident T2D cases. Conclusion The predictive effect of BMI was found to be stronger for T2D incidence than T2D prevalence

Clarifying Associations between Childhood Adversity, Social Support, Behavioral Factors, and Mental Health, Health, and Well-Being in Adulthood: A Population-Based Study

Publisher's version, source: http://10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00727.Previous studies have shown that socio-demographic factors, childhood socioeconomic status (CSES), childhood traumatic experiences (CTEs), social support and behavioral factors are associated with health and well-being in adulthood. However, the relative importance of these factors for mental health, health, and well-being has not been studied. Moreover, the mechanisms by which CTEs affect mental health, health, and well-being in adulthood are not clear. Using data from a representative sample (n = 12,981) of the adult population in Tromsø, Norway, this study examines (i) the relative contribution of structural conditions (gender, age, CSES, psychological abuse, physical abuse, and substance abuse distress) to social support and behavioral factors in adulthood; (ii) the relative contribution of socio-demographic factors, CSES, CTEs, social support, and behavioral factors to three multi-item instruments of mental health (SCL-10), health (EQ-5D), and subjective well-being (SWLS) in adulthood; (iii) the impact of CTEs on mental health, health, and well-being in adulthood, and; (iv) the mediating role of adult social support and behavioral factors in these associations. Instrumental support (24.16%, p < 0.001) explained most of the variation in mental health, while gender (21.32%, p < 0.001) explained most of the variation in health, and emotional support (23.34%, p < 0.001) explained most of the variation in well-being. Psychological abuse was relatively more important for mental health (12.13%), health (7.01%), and well-being (9.09%), as compared to physical abuse, and substance abuse distress. The subjective assessment of childhood financial conditions was relatively more important for mental health (6.02%), health (10.60%), and well-being (20.60%), as compared to mother's and father's education. CTEs were relatively more important for mental health, while, CSES was relatively more important for health and well-being. Respondents exposed to all three types of CTEs had a more than two-fold increased risk of being mentally unhealthy (RRTotal Effect = 2.75, 95% CI: 2.19–3.10), an 89% increased risk of being unhealthy (RRTotal Effect = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.47–1.99), and a 42% increased risk of having a low level of well-being in adulthood (RRTotal Effect = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.29–1.52). Social support and behavioral factors mediate 11–18% (p < 0.01) of these effects. The study advances the theoretical understanding of how CTEs influence adult mental health, health, and well-being

Increased circulating IL-18 levels in severe mental disorders indicate systemic inflammasome activation

Background Schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are severe mental illnesses (SMI) that are part of a psychosis continuum, and dysregulated innate immune responses have been suggested to be involved in their pathophysiology. However, disease-specific immune mechanisms in SMI are not known yet. Recently, dyslipidemia has been linked to systemic inflammasome activation, and elevated atherogenic lipid ratios have been shown to correlate with circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers in SMI. It is, however, not yet known if increased systemic cholesterol load leads to inflammasome activation in these patients. Methods We tested the hypothesis that patients with SCZ and BD display higher circulating levels compared to healthy individuals of key members of the IL-18 system using a large patient cohort (n = 1632; including 737 SCZ and 895 BD), and healthy controls (CTRL; n = 1070). In addition, we assessed associations with coronary artery disease risk factors in SMI, focusing on relevant inflammasome-related, neuroendocrine, and lipid markers. Results We report higher baseline levels of circulating IL-18 system components (IL-18, IL-18BPA, IL-18R1), and increased expression of inflammasome-related genes (NLRP3 and NLRC4) in the blood of patients relative to CTRL. We demonstrate a cholesterol dyslipidemia pattern in psychotic disorders, and report correlations between levels of blood cholesterol types and the expression of inflammasome system elements in SMI. Conclusions Based on these results, we suggest a role for inflammasome activation/dysregulation in SMI. Our findings further the understanding of possible underlying inflammatory mechanisms and may expose important therapeutic targets in SMI.publishedVersio

Leisure time physical activity and incident use of prescription tranquilizers: A longitudinal population-based study

Objective: Physical inactivity is a major public health problem associated with an increased risk of several psychiatric and physical conditions. This study investigated the association between leisure time physical activity (PA) and incident use of prescription tranquilizers in a regionally representative and prospective cohort. Methods: A total of 4043 men and women (mean age: 61.3 years; 57% women) from the Tromsø Study were followed for six years. Leisure time PA was captured at baseline. Psychiatric morbidity was measured by use of prescription tranquilizers, captured at both baseline and follow-up. Leisure time PA at baseline was used as a predictor of subsequent (incident) use of prescription tranquilizers. We used multinomial regression models and Poisson regression models to estimate relative risk-ratios (RRRs), and relative risks (RRs), respectively, and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: In the fully-adjusted model, accounting for socio-demographic factors, parental history of psychopathology, years of education, smoking, respondent's psychopathology at baseline, and occupational PA, a lower leisure time PA conferred a 41% increased risk of incident use of prescription tranquilizers at follow-up (RR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.83; p = 0.010). Conclusions: These findings suggest that physical inactivity increases the risk of psychiatric morbidity (albeit, measured via use of prescription tranquilizers). Future regionally representative and longitudinal research is required to confirm/refute our findings and explore underlying mechanisms

Child maltreatment, psychopathological symptoms, and onset of diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism and COPD in adulthood

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the associations between child maltreatment (CM), psychopathological symptoms, and onset of diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism (i.e., low metabolism), and chronic bronchitis/emphysema/COPD in adulthood. Methods: The present analysis used cross-sectional data collected in 2007–2008 within the Tromsø Study, Norway (N = 12,981). CM was measured with a single item, and self-reported information on psychopathological symptoms and physical health outcomes was used. The associations between CM, psychopathological symptoms, and physical health outcomes were assessed with linear and Poisson regression models. Mediation was assessed with difference-in-coefficients method. Results: In the fully-adjusted models, CM was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression, psychological distress, difficulty in sleeping, insomnia, and use of sleeping pills and antidepressants in adulthood (p  Limitations: The design of this study is cross-sectional, and all measures are self-reported. Conclusion: The associations between retrospectively-reported CM and physical health outcomes in adulthood are partially driven by psychopathological symptoms in adulthood.</p