The Tamil Hero and His Tribe

Short story about a Pakistani expatriate and his wife who move to Lumut in Burma and meet a neighbouring Tamil family

Foreign Currency Deposits and International Liquidity Shortages in Pakistan

This paper studies the implications of foreign currency deposits (FCDs) for international liquidity shortages in Pakistan. The analysis focuses on how the large volume of FCDs and the specific institutional characteristics of those deposits have made the Pakistan economy highly vulnerable to exogenous shocks. The analysis shows that FCDs created another channel for government borrowing, and fiscal sustainability in a “closed” system may be very different from sustainability in a more “open” system. There is a need to think of these issues in terms of total balance sheet vulnerability, and we recommend measures that would make domestic-currency-denominated assets attractive to investors.Capital Account Liberalisation, Financial Development, Dollarisation

Traffic-adaptive Signal Control and Vehicle Routing Using a Decentralized Back-pressure Method

The problem of controlling traffic lights under adaptive routing of vehicles in urban road networks is considered. Multi-commodity back-pressured algorithms, originally developed for routing and scheduling in communication networks, are applied to road networks to control traffic lights and adaptively reroute vehicles. The performance of the algorithms is analyzed using a microscopic traffic simulator. The results demonstrate that the proposed signal control and adaptive routing algorithms can provide significant improvement over a fixed schedule and a single-commodity back-pressure signal controllers, in terms of various performance metrics, including queue-length, trips completed, and travel times

Antibiotic resistance among Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A in Pakistan (2001-2006).

Objectives: To compare antimicrobial resistance in S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi A isolates from Pakistan. Methods: Blood samples were collected through \u3e 175 laboratory collection points in major cities and towns across the country. The study included 3,671 S. Typhi and 1,475 S. Paratyphi A isolates (2001-2006). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was defined as resistance to first-line agents co-trimoxazole, chloramphenicol and ampicillin. Results: In total, 79.3% S. Typhi and 59.9% S. Paratyphi A were isolated from Patients under 15 years of age. During the study period, the MDR rate increased in S. Typhi (34.2 to 48.5% p 1 microg/ml) increased in both S. Typhi (1.6 to 64.1% p4 microg/ml) was greater in S. Paratyphi A when compared to S. Typhi. Resistance to first-line drugs was higher in those Conclusion: Differences between S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi A, in terms of evolution of resistance to first-line agents and to quinolones, are evident in this population. The rapid increase in quinolone resistance in S. Paratyphi A when compared to S. Typhi is concerning and requires further study

Microclustering: When the Cluster Sizes Grow Sublinearly with the Size of the Data Set

Most generative models for clustering implicitly assume that the number of data points in each cluster grows linearly with the total number of data points. Finite mixture models, Dirichlet process mixture models, and Pitman--Yor process mixture models make this assumption, as do all other infinitely exchangeable clustering models. However, for some tasks, this assumption is undesirable. For example, when performing entity resolution, the size of each cluster is often unrelated to the size of the data set. Consequently, each cluster contains a negligible fraction of the total number of data points. Such tasks therefore require models that yield clusters whose sizes grow sublinearly with the size of the data set. We address this requirement by defining the \emph{microclustering property} and introducing a new model that exhibits this property. We compare this model to several commonly used clustering models by checking model fit using real and simulated data sets

Effect of percutaneous mitral vavuloplasty on pregnant mother and foetus--a tertiary care hospital experience from a developing country

This study evaluated the short and long-term consequences of Percutaneous Mitral Valvuloplasty (PMV) in pregnant patients and their offspring, in a tertiary care setting, Karachi, Pakistan. The hospital database was used to retrieve all patients who underwent PMV during pregnancy in the period 1998-2007. The follow up data of the patients and the born children were obtained from the hospital records and also by contacting the patients via phone. Six patients underwent PMV but follow-up was available for 5 patients only. All 5 patients were admitted due to severe mitral stenosis with symptoms of dyspnea and palpitation. Mean age was 27 +/- 5.3 years with a mean gestational age at the time of procedure of 22.20 +/- 1.6 weeks. The mean valve area increased from 0.94 +/- 0.22 cm2 preoperatively to 1.62 +/- 0.50 cm2 post-operatively. The ejection fraction changed from a mean of 50 +/- 11.7% to 56 +/- 2.2%. There were no maternal deaths, abortions or stillbirths. Developmental milestones were achieved at the appropriate ages in all babies. PMV appears to be a safe and effective intervention for patients with severe MS during pregnancy. Keywords: Mitral stenosis, Percutaneous Mitra

Language planning: An overview

This paper deals with the problems associated with language planning. Language planning is a controversial area in sociolinguistic. There is controversy about the terminology used, and in a postcolonial scenario, these problems go far beyond the academic, and become part of socio-political disagreements and conflicts. Often in the name of nationalism and progress, language planning privileges one language at the cost of other languages which may end up as serious societal conflicts. A researcher, thus, should look for hidden history in what on the surface appears to be innocuous language planning with noble goals such as wider national communication and national cohesion

Anti-Helicobacter pylori activity and inhibition of Helicobacter pylori-induced release of IL-8 in AGS cells by plant extracts

Plants used in popular diet were studied for anti-Helicobacter pylori activity and their effect on the expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8) from H. pylori infected gastric epithelial cells. Extracts were prepared of Allium sativum (A. sativum), Cuminum cyminum (C. cyminum),Piper nigrum (P. nigrum) and their mix in two different dilutions. AGS cell line and H. pyloristrains were used for co-culture experiments. Extracts bactericidal activity was determined by a viable colony count. ELISA (Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) was used to determine IL-8 expression. DNA extracted from bacterial cells was used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of cytotoxin-associated gene (cagA) and E (cagE). Results revealedH. pylori strains sensitivity to A. sativum (5.5 mg/ml) was 57% (39/69) (p=0.06), and to 11 mg/ml was 65% (45/69) (p=0.02) compared to amoxicillin, respectively. CagE positive H. pylori, 37% (11/30) (p=0.02) were sensitive to plant mixture (23.5 mg/ml), 60% (18/30) (pC. cyminum (PP. nigrum (P=0.0046) and A. sativum(P=0.0021), respectively compared to positive and negative controls. Thus, dietary plants demonstrated an anti-H. pylori effect. They reduced IL-8 expression from the H. pyloriinfected AGS cells. Key words: Helicobacter pylori; Allium sativum, Cuminum cyminum, Piper nigrum, gastric epithelial cells, interleukin-8, ELISA, cagA, cagE