The Impact of Economic Integration and Economic Growth on Environmental Degradation in Five Asian Countries

Economic integration has been acclaimed as a way to increase world output grounded on the economies of scale and the exchange of technology, ideas and information. However, it is of great concern that the impact of integration may have on the increase in threats to the environment, natural resources and human health, due to the implicit improvement in economic growth. Two main channels through which integration contributes to the growth of the literature have been identified as foreign direct investment and trade. This study explores the effects of economic integration and economic growth on environmental degradation in the years 1995 to 2015. This study was conducted using the panel data. We apply panel unit root, co-integration tests, and Pooled mean group model to examine the short and long-run relationships among economic integration, economic growth, and the environment in five Asians countries named Pakistan, India, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal The results of the Pooled Mean Group Model found that there is a long-term relationship among the projected variables for the whole sample. Long run results of Pooled Mean Group model showed that economic growth and foreign direct investment have substantial and positive effect on environmental degradation while trade openness has negative but significant influence on environmental degradatio

IMPACT OF FDI ON ECONOMY GROWTH: A COMPARISON OF SOUTH ASIAN STATES & CHINA

This paper makes a comparison of the impact of Foreign Direct investment on the economies of South Asian states including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with China. The paper attempts to investigate that what are the differences between the economies of South Asia region and China. For study purpose annual data are used. The variables selected are FDI, External Debt, and Remittances. Analytical tools of OLS test and granger causality test are used to analyze the data. The result confirmed the fast growing economic development of China as compared with states of South Asia. The results confirmed that China is much faster growing economy than South Asia region. In order to attract direct investment into the of South Asian states, there is a need to develop infrastructure, stabilized political environment, law and order situation, healthy economic environment, curtailing on external debt, tax exemption. If these countries give due attention to FDI role in economic development FDI can facilitate human capital formation, domestic investment and technology transfer in the region and they can also develop their economies much like that of China

A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF OROFACIAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA IN LOCAL POPULATION

ABSTRACT Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common and devastating oral cancer. It is the sixth most common tumour worldwide with almost 90,000 cases reported annually. Its incidence is alarmingly increasing in many South Asian countries owing to the increase in areca nut, betel quid and tobacco chewing habits among vast population of this region. Objective: To see the clinical and histopathological pattern of oral squamous cell carcinoma in a tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study. 39 patients of primary oral squamous cell carcinoma were studied from two tertiary care hospitals of Punjab namely Mayo Hospital Lahore and Allied Hospital Faisalabad. Detailed clinical histories of the patients were recorded. The histopathologic examination on the specimens removed was performed using haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain. Clinical data included age, sex of the patient and intraoral site of cancer. Histopathological data included the grade of Squamous cell carcinoma. The grading was done using Anneroth grading system. The data was analysed on SPSS 18. Results: In our study the patients with squamous cell carcinoma had a mean age of 50.36 ± 1.98 years with equal prevalence in both genders. It was observed that SCC was most commonly arising from tongue (23.1%) followed by lip mucosa (20.5%) and buccal mucosa (12.8%). Most of the cases were moderately differentiated (51.3%), whereas the remaining were well and poorly differentiated. A very strong association (p = 0.001) was found between the site and grade of tumour using Fisher's exact test. Almost all the tumours on sublingual mucosa especially those arising from floor of the mouth were poorly differentiated

Preconception care: promoting reproductive planning

INTRODUCTION: Preconception care recognizes that many adolescent girls and young women will be thrust into motherhood without the knowledge, skills or support they need. Sixty million adolescents give birth each year worldwide, even though pregnancy in adolescence has mortality rates at least twice as high as pregnancy in women aged 20-29 years. Reproductive planning and contraceptive use can prevent unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually-transmitted infections in adolescent girls and women. Smaller families also mean better nutrition and development opportunities, yet 222 million couples continue to lack access to modern contraception. METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence was conducted to ascertain the possible impact of preconception care for adolescents, women and couples of reproductive age on MNCH outcomes. A comprehensive strategy was used to search electronic reference libraries, and both observational and clinical controlled trials were included. Cross-referencing and a separate search strategy for each preconception risk and intervention ensured wider study capture. RESULTS: Comprehensive interventions can prevent first pregnancy in adolescence by 15% and repeat adolescent pregnancy by 37%. Such interventions should address underlying social and community factors, include sexual and reproductive health services, contraceptive provision; personal development programs and emphasizes completion of education. Appropriate birth spacing (18-24 months from birth to next pregnancy compared to short intervals <6 months) can significantly lower maternal mortality, preterm births, stillbirths, low birth weight and early neonatal deaths. CONCLUSION: Improving adolescent health and preventing adolescent pregnancy; and promotion of birth spacing through increasing correct and consistent use of effective contraception are fundamental to preconception care. Promoting reproductive planning on a wider scale is closely interlinked with the reliable provision of effective contraception, however, innovative strategies will need to be devised, or existing strategies such as community-based health workers and peer educators may be expanded, to encourage girls and women to plan their families

The effect of providing skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care in preventing stillbirths

BACKGROUND: Of the global burden of 2.6 million stillbirths, around 1.2 million occur during labour i.e. are intrapartum deaths. In low-/middle-income countries, a significant proportion of women give birth at home, usually in the absence of a skilled birth attendant. This review discusses the impact of skilled birth attendance (SBA) and the provision of Emergency Obstetric Care (EOC) on stillbirths and perinatal mortality. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed on PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Database and the WHO regional libraries. Data of all eligible studies were extracted into a standardized Excel sheet containing variables such as participants' characteristics, sample size, location, setting, blinding, allocation concealment, intervention and control details and limitations. We undertook a meta-analysis of the impact of SBA on stillbirths. Given the paucity of data from randomized trials or robust quasi-experimental designs, we undertook an expert Delphi consultation to determine impact estimates of provision of Basic and Comprehensive EOC on reducing stillbirths if there would be universal coverage (99%). RESULTS: The literature search yielded 871 hits. A total of 21 studies were selected for data abstraction. Our meta-analysis on community-based skilled birth attendance based on two before-after studies showed a 23% significant reduction in stillbirths (RR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.69 - 0.85). The overall quality grade of available evidence for this intervention on stillbirths was 'moderate'. The Delphi process supported the estimated reduction in stillbirths by skilled attendance and experts further suggested that the provision of Basic EOC had the potential to avert intrapartum stillbirths by 45% and with provision of Comprehensive EOC this could be reduced by 75%. These estimates are conservative, consistent with historical trends in maternal and perinatal mortality from both developed and developing countries, and are recommended for inclusion in the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) model. CONCLUSIONS: Both Skilled Birth Attendance and Emergency/or Essential Obstetric Care have the potential to reduce the number of stillbirths seen globally. Further evidence is needed to be able to calculate an effect size

The Relations between Street Network Configuration and Travel Behavior in Pakistan; the Optimal Level of Street Connectivity for a More Active Mobility

Urban sprawl is a particular pattern of the street network and land use. The relationship between street networks and sprawl has been discussed by urban scholars in developed and high-income countries. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the relationships between street connectivity and urban travel behavior, particularly among emerging markets. This paper aims to study correlations between urban mobility and street-length density as an indicator for assessing the compactness of an area by developing two hierarchical regression models and controlling for socioeconomic variables in two large Pakistani cities: Lahore and Rawalpindi. Moreover, this paper defines optimal cutoff values for street-length density and active transport. Finally, three chi-square tests were conducted to assess the differences between using different mode choices by people living in sprawled neighborhoods versus compact neighborhoods. Our findings confirm the use of different transport modes depending on the purpose of the trip (commuting or non-commuting), length of trip (within or outside the neighborhood), and starting point (sprawled neighborhood or compact area). We also find a positive correlation between street-length density around homes and commuting distance, the frequency of public transport use, and the use of private motor vehicles in commuting trips in the two cities. Street-length density around workplaces is correlated with commuting distance, the frequency of public transport use, and the use of private motor vehicles when socioeconomic variables (including age, daily activity, and monthly income) are controlled for in the two models. The behavior of Pakistani residents changes with a street-length density of 137 and 144.7 m/m2 for homes and workplaces, respectively, in terms of using active mobility.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2021 - 2022 / Technische Universität Berli