Reforms, Incentives and Banking Sector Productivity: A Case of Nepal

We model banks as profit-cum-utility maximizing firms and study, inter alia, bankers' incentives (optimal effort) and incentive driven productivity following deregulations. Our model puts to test a panel of Nepalese commercial banks which went through deep financial reforms in the recent past. We find that (i) bankers' efforts and productivity have notably improved in Nepal, (ii) bankers' efforts significantly explain the banking sector's productivity, (iii) the proportion of non-performing loans has considerably declined, and (iv) banking services have become costly, although the bank spread has moderately declined. Our approach is different from the widely used data envelopment analysis (DEA) of bank productivity, hence complements the literature. It also informs the current policy debate in Nepal where the Central Bank is seen to be geared towards regulating the financial system and micro-managing the banking institutions

Polymorphism of goat DGAT1 gene and their association with milk production traits

The purpose of the study was to identify genotype frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms the intron 6, exon 7, intron 7, exon 8, intron 8 and exon 15, intron 15, exon 16, intron 16, exon 17 and partially 3' untranslated region (UTR) in goat DGAT1 gene and its possible association genotypes with milk traits in dairy goat breeds by means of PCR-RFLP assays. Goats 185: Saanen n: 35; Damascus n: 30; Halep n: 30; Maltase n: 30; Alpine n: 30; Kilis n: 30) were used for investigating. PCR products were digested separately with EaeI, NlaIII and AIul restriction enzymes for exon 8, exon 16 and 17, respectively. No polymorphisms were detected at the EaeI and AIul cleavage sites for exon 8 and exon 17 in sampled goat populations. However, biallelic polymorphism was found with restriction endonuclease NlaIII in intron 16 of DGAT1 gene and two genotypes were detected and TC, in which TT was the predominant genotype and allele T was predominant allele in six goat breeds. No significant statistical results were founded in milk yield, fat, protein and lactose values with TT and TC genotypes were detected. We have described here for the first time an NlaIII PCR-RFLP method for detecting T-to-C mutation in intron 16 goat DGAT1 locus: CATG-to-CACG

Structural features of sheep farms in Elazığ province

Bu çalışma Elazığ ilinde bulunan koyunculuk işletmelerinin yapısal özelliklerini belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Bu amaçla 167 çiftlik araştırmaya dâhil edilerek ziyaret edilmiş, yerinde değerlendirilmiş ve sahipleri ile yüz yüze anket çalışması yapılmıştır. Araştırmada işletmelerin %56,3'ünün kendi arazisine, %60,0'ının ise %10,1-50 dekar araziye sahip olduğu belirlendi. Çalışmada ağılların %86,2'sinin müstakil, %10,8'inin eve bitişik, %88,0'inin kapalı tip, %42,5'inin kuzey-güney uzun aksında, %60,0'ının tuğla-briket duvarlı, %66,9'unun toprak zeminli olarak yapıldığı; %62,9’unda yeterli havalandırma bacası ve %84,5’inde yeterli pencere bulunduğu belirlendi. Ayrıca çiftliklerin %94,5’inde koyun sulama ekipmanı olarak yalak kullanıldığı, %55,8’inde ahşap yemlik tercih edildiği, çiftliklerin %76,6’sında iki ağıl kapısı, %86,2’sinde koyun başına 1 m2 veya daha az gezinti alanı bulunduğu, %88,5’inde yem hazırlama değirmeni/mikser, %47,2’sinde ise gölgelik/sundurma bulundurulmadığı tespit edildi. Sonuç olarak hem yetiştiriciler hem de ilgili kurum ve kuruluşlar tarafından bu çalışma ile tespit edilen sorunlar ve çözüm önerileri dikkate alınarak İlde koyun yetiştiriciliğinin uygun düzeye getirilmesi beklenmektedir. İşletmelerde yapısal sorunların giderilmesi için teşvik, destek ve faizsiz kredilerin artırılması önerilmektedir.This study was carried out to determine the structural characteristics of sheep farms in Elazığ province. For this purpose, 167 farms were included in the research and visited, evaluated on-site, and a face-to-face survey was conducted with their owners. According the study, 56.3% of the breeders owned their own land, 60.0% owned 10.1-50 decares of land, 86.2% of the barns were detached, 10.8% were adjacent to the house, 88.0% were closed type, 42.5% were on the north-south long axis, 60.0% were brick-briquettes walled, 66.9% were soil ground, 62.9% had adequate ventilation shafts, 84.5% had sufficient windows. In addition, 94.5% of the farms use troughs as sheep irrigation equipment, 55.8% prefer wooden mangers, 76.6% of the farms had two barn doors, 86.2% had 1 m2 or less walking area per sheep. But there was no feed mill/mixer in 88.5% and no shade/porch in 47.2%. As a result, it is expected that the sheep breeding in the province will reach the desired level by considering the identified problems and proposed solutions through this study by both the breeders and the relevant institutions and organizations. It is recommended to increase incentives, support and interest-free loans in order to eliminate structural problems in businesses

Plasma Chemerin Levels Are Increased in ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients with High Thrombus Burden

Objective. To investigate plasma chemerin levels in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients and find out possible relationships between plasma chemerin levels and angiographic characteristics. Patients and Methods. Ninety-seven consecutive patients who presented with STEMI and underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with coronary stents were enrolled, and 30 age- and sex-matched patients with stable angina pectoris who underwent coronary angiography formed the control group. Angiographic characteristics of the patients including thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) thrombus and Gensini scores were noted. Blood samples were taken to detect several biochemical markers including plasma chemerin levels at the admission to hospital. Results. Serum chemerin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were significantly increased in patients with STEMI. Among STEMI patients, serum chemerin levels were significantly higher in patients with high thrombus burden (581.5 ± 173.7 versus 451.3 ± 101.2 mg/dL, p<0.001). CRP levels and peak creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) levels were higher, and left ventricular ejection fraction and post-PCI TIMI flow were lower in patients with high thrombus burden. After multivariate analysis, serum chemerin levels were also higher in patients with high thrombus grade (odds ratio: 1.009 (1.005–1.014), p<0.001). Besides, serum chemerin levels were also found to be significantly correlated with CRP r=0.47,p<0.001 and peak CK-MB r=0.376,p<0.001 levels. Conclusions. Results from our study have demonstrated for the first time that chemerin levels were higher in STEMI patients with greater thrombus burden and higher level of inflammation

Türkiye'de farklı niteliklere sahip süt sığırı işletmelerinde mastitisin koruma ve kontrolü kapsamındaki bazı uygulamaların düzeyleri

Amaç: Sunulan çalışmada Türkiye’deki 177 küçük ve 169 büyük ölçeklisüt sığırı işletmesinde mastitisin koruma ve kontrolu?ne yönelik uygulamalar ve uygulanma düzeylerinin ortaya koyulması amaçlandı.Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu kapsamda Türkiye’de farklı illerdeki toplam 346süt sığırı işletmesinden meme sağlığı ile ilgili verileri toplanarak istatistiksel açıdan incelendi.Bulgular: Büyük ölçekli işletmelerde en fazla 50-200 baş (n=96, %56,8ve en fazla Holştayn ırkı (n=97, %57,4)) ve küçük ölçekli işletmelerde iseen fazla 11-20 baş (n=71, %40,1 ve en fazla Simental ırkı (n=153, %86,4))arası inek olduğu, bu iki tip işletmede 4 yaşlı ineklerin daha fazla olduğu(sırasıyla, n=62, %36,7 ve n=93, %52,5) görülmüştür. Büyük işletmelerdeteat dipping (%70,4), kuru dönem antibiyotik (%72,8), teat seal(%9,5) vemastitis aşısı (%55,6) uygulamalarının küçük ölçekli işletmelerden dahayüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Büyük işletmelerde predipping (%59,2)ve postdipping uygulaması yapanların oranının (%67,5) yapmayanlardandaha fazla olduğu ve uygulamalarda en fazla iyotlu antiseptiklerin kullanıldığı belirlenmiştir. Küçük ölçekli işletmelerde sağım hijyeni uygulamayanların oranının (%61,6) fazla olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu iki tip işletmede günlük ortalama süt verimi üzerine işletme tipi (p<0,000) ve ırkın(p<0,001) etkisi istatistiksel olarak önemli bulunmuştur.Öneri: Sonuç olarak, Türkiye’deki süt sığırı işletmelerinde mastitisdenkoruma ve mastitisin kontrolu? amaçlı uygulanan yöntemlerin oranlarının,geçmiş yıllarla karşılaştırıldığında daha yüksek olduğu fakat istenen düzeylerde olmadığı tespit edilmiştir

Single nucleotide variations of the canine RAD51 domains, which directly binds PALB2 and BRCA2

Tumors of the mammary glands are the most common tumors to affect entire female dogs representing between 50-70% of all tumors types, which is three times higher rate of incidence than humans. No other animal species has such high probability of onset of mammary tumors. Homologous recombination (HR) is the most important double-strand breaks (DSBs) repair mechanisms of DNA and RAD51 plays an important role in this repair mechanism. The tumor suppressors RAD51, BRCA2 and PALB2 act together to initiate the chromosomal lesions repair. BRCA2 and PALB2 mutations lead to destabilization of the genome and engender cancer risk. PALB2 binds to DNA and associates with the RAD51 recombinase. In this study we investigate the genetic variations in RAD51 gene, which directly interactions with PALB2 and BRCA2 domains. From a total of 64 canine patients with mammary tumors, 31 mammary tumors with benign and malign carcinomas and the 3 normal mammary glands were used for the study. We have identified 2 SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) and 7 SNVs (Single Nucleotide Variants) in canine RAD51 exon 7- intron 9 regions, among them 7 SNVs and 1 SNPs were detected for the first time in this study