• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

The implications of bank-specific risks and macroeconomic risks on the growth, profitability, and stability of Islamic and conventional banks are examined and compared in this article. The study also investigates whether corporate governance mitigates the effects of both bank-specific and macroeconomic risks on Islamic and conventional banks' development, profitability, and stability. For the period 2007-2019, we examined a panel data set of 22 banks in Pakistan, including both Islamic and conventional banks. We discovered considerable evidence that both bank-specific risks and macroeconomic risks have negative effects on the growth, profitability, and stability of Pakistani banks using a dynamic panel data estimator, the two-step Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach. Furthermore, the findings show that bank-specific and macroeconomic risks have different consequences in both types of banking. The impacts of liquidity risk, operational risk, capital risk, inflation risk, and exchange rate risk are higher for Islamic banks than for conventional banks. Conventional banks, on the other hand, are more vulnerable to credit risk and interest rate risk. Finally, the findings show that good corporate governance reduces the negative consequences of both categories of risks on bank development, profitability, and stability. This is true for Islamic and conventional banks alike.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.7
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• pp.231-237
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• 2022

Intellectual Capital, a valuable intangible organizational asset, is primarily linked to a company's financial performance and is divided into three categories: human, structural, and relational capital. This paper investigates the impact of intellectual capital on the financial performance of selected Pakistani companies in the Information and Communication sector, as this sector is heavily reliant on intellectual capital. The data for 11 firms was gathered from the State Bank's Financial Statements Analysis of Companies Listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2015 to 2020. Pulić's (2004) Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM) has been used to assess a company's IC efficiency. VAIC^TM and its components, the efficiency of intellectual capital, and the efficiency of capital employed are calculated. Financial performance is measured through return on assets, return on capital employed, and asset turnover ratio. Multiple regression, fixed-effect, and random-effect Panel Data estimation are used in the empirical study. The findings suggest that intellectual capital efficiency has a large impact on major profitability metrics, but little effect on company productivity. It can be inferred from the results that the companies must invest in advanced technology, the latest machinery, and well-equipped offices to improve financial performance and productivity and gain a competitive advantage.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.399-409
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of virtual community participation and engagement in the brand decision by building community and brand trust. In this study, two theories (Social Capital Theory and Theory of Collective Action) were tested. Both theories were linked based on existing literature, and empirical evidence was obtained through testing hypotheses. Students from five prestigious Pakistani business schools provided a total of 849 replies. The measurement model and structural model were both analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) method. The findings show that virtual community engagement and participation have a positive and significant impact on virtual community trust. Although virtual community engagement has a positive effect on brand trust, we found no evidence of a link between virtual community participation and brand trust. Later, these trusts positively influence brand choice. This study has several managerial implications. The suggested model of this study helps managers to get customers' insight, choose the right target market, and set integrated marketing communication strategies besides social media marketing strategies. The study represents a new perspective of consumer behavior that helps to understand how a customer behaves in virtual communities to trust and take the final decision to purchase.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.1-9
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• 2022

The study examines stock prices (LOGKSE) and exchange rate (LOGPK)-Pakistani Rupee vis-à-vis US Dollar- interactions in Pakistan. This study employs a multivariate VAR-GARCH model using monthly data from January 2012 to October 2020. The results of the Johansen cointegration test show that there is no relationship between Foreign Exchange Market and Stock Market in the long run. In the short-run, stock exchange returns are affected slightly negatively by the changes in the foreign exchange market, but the foreign exchange market does not seem to be affected by the ups and downs of the stock exchange. The VAR model and Granger Causality show that both markets are strongly influenced by their own lagged values rather than by the lagged values of one another and show weak or no correlation between the two markets. Volatility persistence is observed in both the stock and foreign exchange markets, implying that shocks and past period volatility are major drivers of future volatility in both markets. Thus greater uncertainties today will induce panic and consequently generate higher volatility in the future period. This phenomenon has been observed many times on Pakistan Stock Exchange especially. The results have important implications for local international investors in portfolio diversification decisions and risk hedging strategies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.203-215
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• 2022

Bayesian Networks are multivariate probabilistic factor graphs that are used to assess underlying factor relationships. From January 2005 to December 2018, the study examines how Dynamic Bayesian Networks can be utilized to estimate portfolio risk and return as well as determine inter-factor relationships among reversal profit-generating components in Pakistan's emerging market (PSX). The goal of this article is to uncover the factors that cause reversal profits in the Pakistani stock market. In visual form, Bayesian networks can generate causal and inferential probabilistic relationships. Investors might update their stock return values in the network simultaneously with fresh market information, resulting in a dynamic shift in portfolio risk distribution across the networks. The findings show that investments in low net profit margin, low investment, and high volatility-based designed portfolios yield the biggest dynamical reversal profits. The main triggering aspects related to generation reversal profits in the Pakistan market, in the long run, are net profit margin, market risk premium, investment, size, and volatility factor. Investors should invest in and build portfolios with small companies that have a low price-to-earnings ratio, small earnings per share, and minimal volatility, according to the most likely explanation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7327-7330
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• 2015

Background: Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a clonal hemopoietic stem cell myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by persistent thrombocytosis along with megakaryocytic hyperplasia. In the last decade following the identification of an acquired JAK2 V617F mutation, there has been acceleration in our understanding of this disease. The rational of this study was to determine the mutational profile of JAK2 V617F in Pakistan patients with ET. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross sectional study, 21 patients with ET were enrolled from January 2011 to December 2014. Patients were diagnosed based on WHO criteria for essential thrombocythemia. Complete blood count was done on an automated hematology analyzer, while JAK2 V617F expression was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction. Results: The mean age was $56.7{\pm}19.0$ years (range 18-87) and the male to female ratio was 1:1.1. The frequency of JAK2 V617F positivity in our ET patients was found to be 61.9%. The mean hemoglobin was $11.7{\pm}2.4$ g/dl with a total leukocyte count of $13.3{\pm}8.1{\times}109/l$ and a platelet count of $1188{\pm}522{\times}109/l$. Positive correlations for JAK2 V617F mutation were established with high TLC count and raised LDH (P<0.05). No correlation of JAK2 V617F could be established with age and gender (P>0.05). Conclusions: JAK2 V617F mutation frequency in our ET patients was similar to those reported previously. Screening for the mutation in all suspected essential thrombocythemia cases could be beneficial in differentiating patients with reactive and clonal thrombocytosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3963-3967
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• 2013

Background: The presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can be identified by immunohistochemistry for detection of EBV latent membrane protein (LMP). The role of EBV as an etiologic agent in the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma has been supported by detection of high levels of latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) expression in tumors. However, no study has been conducted in a Pakistani population up till now to determine the frequency of Epstein-Barr virus positivity. The objective of our study was to determine a value for non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients using EBV LMP-1 immunostaining in our institution. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out at the Department of Histopathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Pakistan from December 2011 to December 2012. It was a cross sectional study. A total of 71 patients who were diagnosed with various subtypes of NHL after histological and EBV LMP-1 immunohistochemical evaluation were studied. Sampling technique was non-probability purposive. Statistical analysis was achieved using SPSS version 17.0. Mean and SD were calculated for quantitative variables like patient age. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for qualitative variables like subgroup of NHL, results outcome of IHC for EBV and gender distribution. Results: Mean age of the patients was $53.6{\pm}16$ years (Mean${\pm}$SD). A total of 50 (70.4%) were male and 21 (29.6%) were female. Some 9 (12.7%) out of 71 cases were positive for EBV-LMP-1 immunostaining, 2 (22.2%) follicular lymphoma cases, 1 (11.1%) case of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, 4 (44.4%) cases of diffuse large B cell lymphomas, 1 (11.1%) mantle cell lymphoma and 1 (11.1%) angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma case. Conclusion: In our study, frequency of EBV in NHL is 12.7% and is mostly seen in diffuse large B cell lymphoma. This requires further evaluation to find out whether this positivity is due to co-infection or has a role in pathogenesis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7187-7191
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• 2013

Most of the exogenous and endogenous chemical compounds are metabolized by enzymes of xenobiotic processing pathways, including the phase I cytochrome p450 species. Carcinogens and their metabolites are generally detoxified by phase II enzymes like glutathione-S-transferases (GST). The balance of enzymes determines whether metabolic activation of pro-carcinogens or inactivation of carcinogens occurs. Under certain conditions, deregulated expression of xenobiotic enzymes may also convert endogenous substrates to metabolites that can facilitate DNA adduct formation and ultimately lead to cancer development. In this study, we aimed to test the association between deregulation of metabolizing genes and brain tumorigenesis. The expression profile of metabolizing genes CYP1A1 and GSTP1 was therefore studied in a cohort of 36 brain tumor patients and controls using Western blotting. In a second part of the study we analyzed protein expression of GSTs in the same study cohort by ELISA. CYP1A1 expression was found to be significantly high (p<0.001) in brain tumor as compared to the normal tissues, with ~4 fold (OR=4, 95%CI=0.43-37) increase in some cases. In contrast, the expression of GSTP1 was found to be significantly low in brain tumor tissues as compared to the controls (p<0.02). This down regulation was significantly higher (OR=0.05, 95%CI=0.006-0.51; p<0.007) in certain grades of lesions. Furthermore, GSTs levels were significantly down-regulated (p<0.014) in brain tumor patients compared to controls. Statistically significant decrease in GST levels was observed in the more advanced lesions (III-IV, p<0.005) as compared to the early tissue grades (I-II). Thus, altered expression of these xenobiotic metabolizing genes may be involved in brain tumor development in Pakistani population. Investigation of expression of these genes may provide information not only for the prediction of individual cancer risk but also for the prevention of cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.603-606
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• 2013

Background: Ovarian cancer is the second most common malignancy in Pakistani women, accounting for 4% of all cancers in the female population. The aim of this study was to determine sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and 95% confidence intervals for ultrasound in characterization of ovarian masses in patients presenting at public and private tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Materials and Methods: We adopted a cross-sectional analytical study design to retrospectively collect data from January 2009-11 from medical records of two tertiary care hospitals. Using a non-probability purposive sampling technique, we recruited a sample of 86 women aged between 15 and 85 years fulfilling inclusion criteria with histopathologically proven ovarian masses presenting for an ultrasound examination in our radiology departments. Results: Our retrospective data depicted sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound to be 90.7%, 95%CI (0.77, 0.97) and 91.4%, 95%CI (0.76, 0.98) respectively. Positive predictive value was 93%, 95%CI (0.79, 0.98) and negative predictive value was 89%, 95%CI (0.73, 0.96). A total of 78 ovarian masses were detected, out of which 42 were malignant and 36 were benign. Conclusions: Results of our study further reinforce the conclusion that ultrasound should be used as an initial modality of choice in the workup of every woman suspected of having an ovarian mass. It not only results in decreasing the mortality but also avoids unnecessary surgical interventions.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.329-341
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• 2017

Livestock is considered central component in agricultural sector of Pakistan, provides employment to more than 8 million families. Meat and meat products holds pivotal significance in meeting dietary requirements serving as major protein source and provide essential vitamins and minerals. Globally, consumer demand is increasing for healthy, hygienic and safe meat and meat products due to growing population, income level and food choices. As, food choices are mainly influenced by region, religion and economic level. However, religion is one of the major factor to influence the food choices. In this context, halal foods a growing trend, trade estimated to cross USD $ 3 trillion and among this, meat sector contribute about US$ 600 billion. Halal meat and allied products is requirement from Muslims but it is also accepted by non-Muslims due to safe and hygienic nature, nutritious value and superior quality. Pakistan meat industry is vibrant and has seen rigorous developments during last decade as government also showed interest to boost livestock production and processing facilities to meet increasing local and global demand. The industry has potential to grow owing to its natural animal rearing capability, muslim majority country (96% of total population), improvisation of market and consumer preference towards halal meat. Current review debates Pakistan meat industry scenario, production trend, global trade as well as future potential with respect to modernization, processing, distribution and trade. The data presented here is useful for meat producers, processors and people involved in export of Pakistani meat and meat based products.