Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels, phosphate Intake and its association with Indices of renal handling of phosphate in healthy volunteers

FGF23 is a novel phosphaturic hormone; we aimed to assess the FGF23 levels and its association with dietary phosphate intake and indices of renal handling of phosphate in this study. Prospective study was conducted in which dietary phosphate intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) along with blood and spot urine samples were collected after overnight fast for determining serum phosphate, FGF23, fractional excretion of phosphate (FePO4 ) and tubular maximum for phosphate (TmP/GFR). FGF23 (C-Term) was measured by a sandwich ELISA. The mean dietary phosphate intake of eighty healthy adults (mean age of 29 ± 5 years) was 1220 ± 426 mg; median FGF23 was 49.9 RU/ml (IQR=33, 76) and mean FePO4 was 7 ± 4.7. Subjects were stratified into two groups according to serum phosphate levels. Significant difference was not found in dietary phosphate intake and FGF23 levels in the two groups. However, TmP/GFR and creatinine were significantly different in the two groups. FePO4 was high in both the groups. Overall a rising pattern of FGF23 levels was seen with increasing serum phosphate levels. Significant positive correlation was found between FGF23 and dietary phosphate (r=0.22, p\u3c0.05) and negative correlation was seen between FGF23 and FePO4 (r=-0.260, p\u3c0.05)

Ownership Concentration and Firm Performance: Evidence from Pakistan

The current study aims to investigate the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance. The study conducted the analysis on 262 non-financial listed firms on the Karachi stock exchange (KSE) for a time period of six years (2006-2011). The ownership concentration was measured through the percentage of shareholding by largest shareholder, five largest shareholders and ten largest shareholders, whereas firm performance was measured through market base performance parameters (Tobin’s Q) and accounting base performance parameter (ROA and ROE). The study employed multiple regression models to examine the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance. The results revealed that ownership concentration has positive impact on firm performance for both accounting and market base performance parameters. The understanding of relationship dynamics of ownership concentration and firm performance helps investors and policy makers to better utilize the corporate governance internal control mechanisms for achieving the firm’s value maximization objective. Key Words: Ownership Concentration, Firm Performance, and Emerging Markets

Explicit Deposit Insurance and Bank Risk-Taking: Does Banking Supervision Matter?

This study explores the influence of supervisory powers and structure of a banking supervisor on the bank’s risk-taking caused by the implementation of explicit deposit insurance (EDI). We explore the data of publically traded 1,936 banks of 96 countries, from the Bank scope during 2002 to 2015. Using the Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), findings revealed that banking supervision reduces the moral hazard of bank’s risk-taking in non-crisis affected countries, either allocated supervisory powers are low or high. Additionally, conferring the greater supervisory authority to banking supervisor strengthened the financial health of banks amongst both crisis and non-crisis affected countries. Furthermore, central bank working as a banking supervisor with greater supervisory powers seemed to mitigate the moral hazard of bank’s risk-taking. While central bank’s low supervisory powers have little or no impact to controlling the bank risk-taking. Hence, the allocation of greater supervisory powers to a central bank heightens the investors and depositors’ confidence in the depository financial institutions

Pheochromocytoma associated with von Hippel-lindau disease in a Pakistani family

Objectives: The aim was to study the presentation, disease characteristics, operative outcome, and prognosis in patients with familial Pheochromocytoma associated with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease.Materials and Methods: There were six patients belonging to two generations of a single family who developed features of VHL over a period of 13 years and were treated at our institute. Patients\u27 characteristics, that is, age, gender, presenting complaints and clinical signs, laboratory and biochemical evaluation, and the presence of associated conditions was gathered from medical records. The preoperative and postoperative radiological imaging and histopathological results were also collected.Results: Out of six cases, five were male, and one was female. The mean age at first presentation was 25 years (16-40). All patients presented with uncontrolled hypertension and were found to have Pheochromocytoma on workup. Three patients had unilateral adrenal tumor, and three had bilateral disease. None of the patients had extra-adrenal Pheochromocytoma. All patients were managed with adrenalectomy and had benign pathology. Two patients subsequently had craniotomy for excision of cerebellar hemangioma, and one patient had bilateral partial nephrectomy at the time of adrenalectomy. There was no peri- post-operative mortality and all patients are being followed by the surgeon(s) and endocrinologist.Conclusion: Pheochromocytoma can be a part of familial conditions including VHL. Other associated features should be suspected, investigated, and treated in these patients that can influence patients\u27 clinical course and prognosis. Family members should also be screened to achieve early diagnosis