• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.67-86
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• 2014

The commercial arbitration is considered an effective and rapid means in solving problems and finding solutions for disputes between the business partners. For the development of commercial arbitration, there is a need to study arbitration in practice as well as in theory. This paper analyse the situation of commercial arbitration system in Pakistan both with respect to domestic laws and international laws applicable in Pakistan. The Arbitration Bill 2009 aims to consolidate law relating domestic arbitration, international commercial arbitration, recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards as well as settlement of international investment disputes. Pakistan while defending investment claims and in order to restore investor's confidence, in 2011, Pakistan introduced a law to secure foreign investments. This study explains the relationship of old and new Pakistani arbitration laws and elaborates the changes brought about by the new enactments and gives a comprehensive analysis of Pakistani arbitration laws, rules and procedures dealing with arbitration agreements and awards. In the absence of relevant trade information in Pakistan, this paper is designed to meet the needs of a Korean international trade scholars to obtain an understanding of Pakistani commercial arbitration system quickly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4307-4312
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy worldwide and its incidence is on the rise in Pakistan. The aim of this case-control study was to quantify the association of various risk factors with breast cancer risk among Pakistani women. Materials and Methods: A total of 2,246 women were studied, including 1,238 women with histologically confirmed breast cancer patients and age matched control subjects (N=1008) without breast cancer and other chronic diseases. Subjects were interviewed using a specifically designed questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was applied. Subsequent disease-specific mortality was also measured. Results: In this study, majority of the breast cancer patients (69.59%) were in age ranges of 40s and 50s. BMI greater than 25kg/m2 (OR=1.57; 95%CI, 1.26-1.90 and OR=1.60; 95%CI, 1.26-2.03), marital status of unmarried (OR=2.03; 95%CI, 1.69-2.44), lack of breast feeding, smoking (current or ever), lack of physical activity and post-menopausal status were found to have significant positive associations with breast cancer. It was also observed that increased parity reduced the disease risk. A larger number of cases (58.1%) had their right breast affected while 22.8% had other complications as well. Conclusions: This exploratory analysis indicated a number of risk factors to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer. It was also observed that mean age at diagnosis is a decade earlier than in western countries. It is hoped that our findings will facilitate establishment of adequate evidence-based awareness and preventive measures for Pakistani women.

• BMB Reports
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.552-555
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• 2004

Several studies have demonstrated the importance of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of hypertension. This study sought to determine the association between the ACE I/D polymorphism and essential hypertension in young Pakistanis. The frequency of the ACE I/D polymorphism was established by a comparative cross-sectional survey of Pakistani patients suffering from essential hypertension and ethnically matched normotensive controls. Samples were collected from tertiary care hospitals in northern Pakistan. Hypertensive individuals were defined as those with a systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg on three separate occasions, or those currently receiving one, or more, anti-hypertensive agents. DNA samples obtained from hypertensive (n=211) and normotensive (n=108) individuals were typed by PCR. The frequency of the ACE I/I genotype was significantly higher in hypertensive patients, aged 20-40 years, than in normotensive controls of the same age group ($\chi^2$ = 4.0, P = 0.041). Whereas no overall significant differences were observed between the I/I, I/D and D/D ACE genotypes (One way ANOVA, F=0.672; P=0.413). The association between the ACE I/I genotype and essential hypertension in individuals aged $\leq$ 40 years suggests that ACE has a role in early onset essential hypertension in Pakistan.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.1010-1021
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• 2023

Objective: Growth performance and growth-related traits have a crucial role in livestock due to their influence on productivity. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Pakistani dromedary camels was conducted to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with growth at specific camel ages, and for selected SNPs, to investigate in detail how their effects change with increasing camel age. This is the first GWAS conducted on dromedary camels in this region. Methods: Two Pakistani breeds, Marecha and Lassi, were selected for this study. A genotyping-by-sequencing method was used, and a total of 65,644 SNPs were identified. For GWAS, weight records data with several body weight traits, namely, birthweight, weaning weight, and weights of camels at 1, 2, 4, and 6 years of age were analysed by using model-based growth curve analysis. Age-specific weight data were analysed with a linear mixed model that included fixed effects of SNP genotype as well as sex. Results: Based on the q-value method for false discovery control, for Marecha camels, five SNPs at q<0.01 and 96 at q<0.05 were significantly associated with the weight traits considered, while three (q<0.01) and seven (q<0.05) SNP associations were identified for Lassi camels. Several candidate genes harbouring these SNP were discovered. Conclusion: These results will help to better understand the genetic architecture of growth including how these genes are expressed at different phases of their life. This will serve to lay the foundations for applied breeding programs of camels by allowing the genetic selection of superior animals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10237-10240
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• 2015

Background: Prostate cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer among males in Pakistan but very little is known about risk factors among the Pakistani population. Therefore a hospital-based, case-control study was carried out in Faisalabad to identify potential risk factors. Materials and Methods: This study was based on 140 prostate cancer cases and 280 normal controls. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for odds ratios to assess the relationship between prostate cancer and different risk factors. Results: Family history of prostate cancer, age, smoking, obesity, consumption of red meat and frequent use of fat items significantly increased the prostate cancer risk (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of: 7.32; 1.79-29.8; 16.9, 5.60-50.8; 2.47, 1.17-5.18; 5.79, 2.66-12.6; 2.71, 1.07-6.91; and 3.39, 1.47-7.83, respectively. On the other hand, more consumption of fruit, fluid intake and better lifestyle (physical activity) significantly reduced the risk of developing prostate cancer with odd ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals of: 0.27, 0.11-0.61; 0.05, 0.02-0.12; and 0.28, 0.13-0.58. Conclusions: The results of the present study suggested that age, family history of prostate cancer, smoking, obesity, fluid intake, frequent use of fat items, consumption of fruits and better lifestyle might be associated with prostate cancer among Pakistani males.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1535-1537
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• 2016

Background: Primary myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is an acquired clonal disorder of myeloid progenitor cells, characterized by peripheral cytopenias in the presence of hypercellular marrow with dysplastic features. Our aim was to study the demographical and clinicopathological features of adult Pakistani patients with MDS at disease presentation. Materials and Methods: This single centre study was conducted at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, extending from January 2010 to December 2014. Data were retrieved from the patient archives. Results: Overall 45 patients were diagnosed at our institution with de novo MDS during the study period. There were 28 males and 17 females. Age ranged between 18 and 95 years with a mean age of $57.6{\pm}17.4years$ and median of 64 years. The male to female ratio was 1.7:1. The main presenting complaints were generalized fatigue (60%), fever (33.3%), dyspnea (15.5%), bleeding (13.3%) and weight loss (11.1%). Examination was unremarkable in 42.2% of patients. Physical examination revealed pallor in 37.7%, followed by petechial and purpuric rashes in 20%. The commonest laboratory finding was anemia (hemoglobin < 10 g/dl in 41 (91.1%) patients. Out of these, 27 (60%) patients had normocytic anemia, followed by macrocytic (22.2%) and microcytic (8.8%). Conclusions: Primary MDS in Pakistani patients demonstrates a male preponderance. The proportion of anemic patients was high in our series with predominance of normocytic anemia. However, other clinico-hematological features appear comparable to published data.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1581-1585
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• 2015

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) remain a serious world health problem due to their association with cervical and head and neck cancers. While over 100 HPV types have been identified, only a few subtypes are associated with malignancies. HPV 16 and 18 are the most prevalent oncogenic types in head and neck cancers. Although it has been proven that some subsets of benign and malignant head and neck lesions are associated with HPV, the general population have very little awareness and knowledge of their association with HPV. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of HPV and its links with head and neck benign and malignant lesions in a group of Pakistani dental patients who attended the Dental Department of the Sandeman provincial hospital in Quetta, Pakistan. One hundred and ninety-two patients were recruited and requested to answer a questionnaire. It was revealed that there was a low level of knowledge about HPV and its association with head and neck benign and malignant lesions among the participants. This result suggested that more education regarding the relationship of HPV in inducing head and neck benign and malignant lesions is required in this group of patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3035-3041
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• 2016

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy of women worldwide. In the past it was considered as disease of older middle aged women, but the incidence of BC in young females is growing in recent years concordant with studies in Pakistan. In this paper, we reviewed the mutant functions of tumor suppressor genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, p53, ATM and PTEN), epigenetic transformation and involvement of estrogen receptors in development of breast cancer. We further reviewed the current situation of BC in Pakistan that depicts a higher incidence in young females. According to SKMCH and RC data, age group 45-49 years is more prone to BC with high rate of incidence 45.42%. A few studies explored the high expression of ER, PR and HER-2/neu in Pakistani females. Moreover, presence of BRCA1 (c.1961dupA) mutation in Pakistani shows concordance with data in different areas of world. But we are unable to find an authentic study that can explore epigenetic based transformation of breast tumors in Pakistan. This area of research needs more attention to explore the complete picture of BC in Pakistan.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.6-20
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• 2016

Scholarly communication plays a significant role in the development and dissemination of research outputs in library and information science (LIS). This study presents findings from a survey which examines the key attributes that characterize the publishing by Pakistani LIS scholars, i.e. academics and professionals, in national journals. A pilot-tested, electronic questionnaire was used to collect the data from the target population. 104 respondents (or 69.3% of target) provided feedback on areas such as number of articles published, number of citations, and the nature of any collaboration with other authors. The findings of this survey revealed that, among the various designated regions of Pakistan, the Punjab region was the most highly represented. In articles published in national journals, there was a clear preference among all respondents to collaborate with at least one other author. The citation metrics for LIS articles in national journals were relatively low (30.22%), which aligns with Scimago’s Journal and Country Rankings. The uptake of social scholarly networks mirrors international trends. Respondents were asked to score factors which could impact negatively on their ability to undertake research and/or publish the results. The study recommends that concerned stakeholders work together, as appropriate, to address concerns. In addition, it recommends that further research be undertaken to define patterns of Pakistani co-authorship in the social sciences.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.11
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

This paper compares the performance of Fama-French three-factor and five-factor models using a dataset of 20 Pakistani commercial banks for the period 2011 to 2020. We focus on an emerging economy as the findings from earlier studies on developed countries cannot be generalized in emerging markets. For empirical analysis, twelve portfolios were developed based on size, market capitalization, investment strategy, and growth. Subsequently, we constructed five Fama-French factors namely, R_M, SMB, HML, RMW, and CMA. The OLS regression technique with robust standard errors was applied to compare the predictive power of both the Fama-French models. Further, we also compared the mean-variance efficiency of the Fama-French models through the GRS test. Our empirical analysis provides three unique and interesting findings. First, both asset pricing models have similar predictive power to explain the expected portfolio returns in most cases. Second, our results from the GRS test suggest that there is no noticeable difference in the mean-variance efficiency of one asset pricing model over the other. Third, we find that all factors of both Fama-French models are statistically significant and are important for explaining the volatility of expected commercial bank returns in the context of Pakistan.