Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) one of the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. With the presently available knowledge on CRC, it is understood that the underlying is a complex process. The complexity of CRC lies in aberrant activation of several cellular signaling pathways that lead to activation and progression of CRC. In this context, recent studies have pointed towards the role of developmental pathways like; hedgehog (HH), wingless-related integration site (WNT/β-catenin) and Notch pathways that play a crucial role in maintenance and homeostasis of colon epithelium. Moreover, the deregulation of these signaling pathways has also been associated with the pathogenesis of CRC. Therefore, in the search for better therapeutic options, these pathways have emerged as potential targets. The present review attempts to highlight the role of HH, WNT/β-catenin and Notch pathways in colon carcinogenesis.

Abstract Milk is a nutritious perishable product having a short shelf-life owing to the occurrence of spoilage bacteria in it. This has led to an increasing demand for ensuring safety through milk processing. Conventional techniques (such as heat treatment) increase shelf-life but damage the nutritional and sensory qualities of milk. Hence, there is a need to develop innovative, nonthermal processing techniques that increase the shelf-life while preserving its nutritional quality. This review focuses on the recent advances in assuring microbial safety of milk by using nonthermal techniques such as high-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, ultraviolet irradiation and membrane microfiltration.

RESUMO: Este estudo contribui para a literatura existente sobre o nexo entre a produção de arroz, milho e trigo com produto interno bruto agrícola (AGDP) do Paquistão. Utilizamos dados de séries temporais de 1970 a 2017 e empregamos o modelo NARDL (Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag). Choques de curto e longo prazo entre as variáveis selecionadas e os resultados são verificados por meio do modelo de co-integração e correção não linear de erros. É aplicada uma abordagem de teste de atraso retardado distribuído autorregressivo para co-integração e para encontrar a relação entre variáveis. Nossos resultados confirmam a co-integração; os resultados de choques positivos mostram que a produção de arroz, milho e trigo influencia significativamente na AGDP. Os choques assimétricos positivos de três culturas têm efeito neutro no AGDP. Enquanto nos resultados simétricos mostram o efeito unidirecional entre o arroz, a produção de milho com AGDP e a produção de trigo não têm causalidade de ganger com AGDP. Finalmente, os resultados mostram que a produção de trigo, milho e arroz contribui significativamente para o PIB agrícola no caso do Paquistão.

ABSTRACT: This study contributes to the extant literature on the nexus among rice, maize and wheat production with agriculture gross domestic product (AGDP) of Pakistan. We use time series data from 1970 to 2017 and employ the Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model. Short run and long run shocks between the selected variables and result’s is checked through the co-integration and nonlinear error correction model.Autoregressive distributed lag bound testing approach for co-integration and to find the relationship between variables Granger causality test is applied.Our results confirm co-integration, positive shocks results show that rice, maize and wheat production have significantly influence on AGDP. The asymmetrically positive shocks of three crops have neutral effect on AGDP. While in symmetric results show the unidirectional effect between rice, maize production with AGDP and wheat production do not have ganger causality with AGDP. Finally, results depict that wheat, maize and rice production significantly contributes to agricultural GDP in the case of Pakistan.

RESUMO: Este estudo contribui para a literatura existente sobre o nexo entre exportação agrícola, taxa de câmbio de importação e crescimento econômico no Paquistão. Utilizamos dados de séries temporais anuais para 1980-2017 e empregamos o modelo Não-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL). Os resultados dos testes NARDL afirmam a co-integração assimétrica entre as variáveis. Os principais resultados do estudo mostram: (i) no teste de co-integração de longo prazo, os choques positivos nas exportações e importações têm uma significância positiva, enquanto a taxa de câmbio afeta positivamente o crescimento econômico; (ii) Teste de co-integração para curto prazo, os choques positivos nas importações são positivos significativos e, enquanto a exportação e a taxa de câmbio têm um efeito negativo significativo no crescimento econômico. Os resultados simétricos mostram: (i) a exportação tem causalidade unidirecional sobre o crescimento ; (ii) a taxa de câmbio tem causalidade bidirecional sobre o crescimento ; (iii) a importação não tem causalidade sobre o crescimento econômico. Além disso, os resultados demonstraram que a relação de causalidade pode ajudar o formulador de políticas a elaborar políticas úteis ao crescimento econômico do Paquistão, o que poderia promover ainda mais o comércio exterior para obter o nível máximo de crescimento econômico.

ABSTRACT: This study contributes to the extant literature on the nexus among agriculture export, import exchange rate and economic growth in Pakistan. We used annual time series data for 1980-2017 and employ the Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model. The NARDL testing results affirms asymmetric co-integration among the variables. The study main results show: (i) Co-integration test for long run the positive shocks in export and import have positive significant while exchange rate has positive effect the economic growth. (ii) Co-integration test for short run the positive shocks in import has positive significant and while Export and exchange rate have negative significant effect on economic growth. The symmetrical results show: (i) Export has unidirectional granger causality (ii) Exchange rate has bidirectional granger causality (iii) Import has not ganger causality with economic growth. In addition, the results demonstrated that causality relationship can help out policy maker to design such policies which are useful to economic growth of Pakistan, which could further promote foreign trade to gain the maximum level of economic growth.

Abstract Introduction: it has previously been shown that parasitic infections (PI) have deleterious effects on the nutritional status of the host, particularly among young children. Objective: the objective of this study was to estimate the severity of the problem of malnutrition and anemia in association with PI in preschool children and to identify the possible risk factors that contribute to these health problems. Methods: four hundred and thirty-seven mother-child pairs were randomly selected from rural areas of Peshawar, Pakistan. Children with visible and invisible worms were identified. The nutritional status of the respondents was evaluated. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on relevant parameters. Appropriate statistical tests were used to analyze the data. Results: the average age of the children was 24 ± 10 months. A total of 120 (27.5%) fecal samples of children tested positive for several parasites. Of the total, 267 (61%), 205 (47%), 109 (25%) and 140 (32%) children were anemic, stunted, wasted and underweight, respectively. The majority of wasted children (59% wasted versus 41% normal) and anemic (66% anemic versus 34% non-anemic) were infected with parasites (p < 0.05). Independent factors related to child anemia included child age, family size, mothers' awareness of overall child healthcare, and PIs. PIs were independent risk factors for malnutrition and general child wasting. Sociodemographic, parental and child-related risk factors for PIs included mothers' poor nutritional status and awareness level regarding overall child healthcare, fathers' formal education, child's pica habit, child's age, open sewage system in the houses and family size. Conclusion: in general, malnutrition and anemia were highly prevalent in children in association with PI.

Resumen Introducción: se ha demostrado previamente que las infecciones parasitarias (IP) tienen efectos nocivos sobre el estado nutricional del huésped, particularmente entre los niños pequeños. Objetivo: el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo estimar la gravedad del problema de desnutrición y anemia en asociación con IP en niños en edad preescolar e identificar los posibles factores de riesgo que contribuyen a estos problemas de salud. Métodos: se seleccionaron al azar 437 parejas madre-hijo de zonas rurales de Peshawar, Pakistán. Se identificaron niños con gusanos visibles y no visibles. Se evaluó el estado nutricional de los encuestados. Se usaron cuestionarios estructurados para recopilar datos sobre parámetros relevantes y pruebas estadísticas apropiadas para analizar los datos. Resultados: la edad promedio de los niños fue de 24 ± 10 meses. Un total de 120 (27,5%) muestras fecales de niños dieron positivo para varios parásitos. Del total, 267 (61%), 205 (47%), 109 (25%) y 140 (32%) niños eran anémicos, presentaban atrofia, desgaste y bajo peso, respectivamente. Los factores independientes relacionados con la anemia infantil incluyen la edad del niño, el tamaño de la familia, el nivel de conciencia de las madres sobre el cuidado de la salud general del niño y los IP. Los IP fueron factores de riesgo independientes para la malnutrición y el desgaste general de los niños. Los factores de riesgo independientes para los IP incluyeron un estado nutricional deficiente de las madres, bajo nivel de conciencia de las madres con respecto a la atención médica general del niño, la educación formal de los padres, el patrón pica en niños, la edad, el sistema de alcantarillado abierto en las casas y el tamaño de la familia. Conclusión: en general, la malnutrición y la anemia fueron muy prevalentes en los niños en asociación con IP.

Organic and inorganic nutrients are important for crop productivity and soil health. Present study investigated the effects of organic and inorganic manures on maize and their residual impacts on soil physico-chemical characteristics. Sheep manure (SM), poultry manure (PM) and farmyard manure (FYM) were applied as organic nutrient source while urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP) and sulphate of potash (SOP) were used at different concentrations as inorganic nutrients source viz., T1: Unfertilized control; T2: NPK at 250-150-125 kg ha-1; T3: SM at 15 t ha-1; T4: FYM at 16 t ha-1; T5: PM at 13 t ha-1; T6: NPK at 150-85-50 + 8 t ha-1 SM; T7: NPK at 150-85-50 + 8.5 t ha-1 FYM and T8: NPK at 150-85-50 + 7 t ha-1 PM. Results showed that growth and yield of maize were substantially improved by fertilizer application alongside organic manures whereas soil total organic C and total N, P, K contents increased when inorganic fertilizers were applied alone or in combined with organic manures. However, soil pH and soil bulk density decreased due to application of organic fertilizer and showed a negative correlation with grain yield. Further, a significant and positive correlation (R²= 0.52, 0.91 and 0.55) was observed among maize grain yield and available N, P and K contents, respectively in the soil. Conclusively, integration of inorganic fertilizers with organic manures can be used with optimum rates to improve crop productivity on sustainable basis. This study will be helpful in crafting sustainable nutrient management programs in future to enhance crop productivity with high efficiency and minimum nutrient loss.

Abstract Objective: To study the in-hospital outcome of adult patients who had undergone surgical repair for Tetralogy of Fallot. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology searching the hospital records. All those adult patients who had undergone repair for Tetralogy of Fallot from January 2012 to December 2014 were included in the study. All the patients were operated by the same surgical team. Patients who underwent primary repair as well as those with previous palliative procedures were included in the study. Thirty days outcome was studied by recording variables from the database. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16. Results: A total of 80 patients was included in the study, in which there were 48 (60%) male patients and 32 (40%) female patients. Mean age was 21±0.21 years. Those with previous palliation were 15 (18.75%). The associated problems observed were: atrial septal defect 27 (33.75%), right aortic arch 30 (37.5%), patent ductus arteriosus 6 (7.5%) and double outlet right ventricle 3 (3.75%). In-hospital mortality recorded was 7 (8%). Postoperative complications encountered were low cardiac output syndrome 9 (11.25%), pleural effusion requiring tapping 3 (3.75%), reoperation for bleeding 3 (3.8%), pulmonary regurgitation (moderate to severe) 20 (25%) which occurred in the transannular patch group only and atrial arrhythmia 4 (5%). Conclusion: A large number of adult patients are still operated for tetralogy of Fallot in Pakistan. With increasing experience in the technique the mortality and morbidity is comparable to international literature.