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Using time series data of Pakistan from 1990 to 2019, this study explores the asymmetric effects of political instability on clean energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. The results from the traditional ARDL model show that political stability lessens environmental damage by reducing CO 2 emissions in the long run. However, when we used the nonlinear ARDL approach, we found that political instability not only reduces the consumption of clean energy but also leads to damage environmental quality in the long run in Pakistan,while political stability not only increases the consumption of clean energy but also helps improve environmental quality in the short run in Pakistan. Thus, macroeconomic policies to promote expansion in clean energy consumption will directly stimulate green economic growth and environmental quality., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A bulk of literature has examined the asymmetric impact of renewable energy consumption on CO 2 emissions by using the advanced econometric approach. While the asymmetric role of renewable energy production in the CO 2 equation is largely unknown, our present study quantifies the asymmetric relationship between renewable energy production, natural resources, economic progress, and CO 2 emission for Pakistan by using the NARDL approach. It is found that positive change in renewable energy production has a positive effect on CO 2 emissions, while a negative change in renewable energy production has a negative effect on CO 2 emissions in the long run. Furthermore, a positive and negative change in natural resources contributes negatively to CO 2 emissions in the long run. The results reveal that a positive change in economic progress significantly increases CO 2 emissions in the long run. Based on findings, Pakistan's government should encourage local and international investors to increase their investment in the production of renewable energy by reducing environmental degradation., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Viral hepatitis is a major public health problem. Infection with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) leads to chronicity and there are about 170 million people infected with HCV. Up to 70% of chronically infected individuals develop active liver disease. The Objective of the study was to find out the frequency of Anti-HCV seropositivity and risk factors of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) transmission in people of Larkana city., Method: The study was conducted at Larkana from April 2006 to April 2007. Camps were established in the main general practitioners' clinics. A questionnaire about knowledge of HCV and risk factors of its transmission was administered to subjects. Descriptive statistics were done by SPSS-10., Result: Total 450 cases were enrolled into this study. They were divided into 3 age groups. Eighty-nine (19.8%) cases were in age group <20 years, 262 (58.2%) were in age group 20-40 years and 99 (22.0%) were in age group >40 years. There were 353 (78.4%) male and 97 (21.6%) female subjects, out of these 450 cases 30 (6.6%) were positive for Anti-HCV. A number of risk factors of HCV transmission were present in these cases. History of therapeutic injections was present in 72 cases and 35 cases used public barber services., Conclusion: History of therapeutic injections and use of barber services for shave were the most frequent risk factors in our study.

The level of Hb Bart's is directly related to the inheritance of alpha-thalassaemia gene. Hb electrophoresis for Hb Bart's in the cord blood is a very simple method of finding out the prevalence of alpha-thalassaemia gene in a given population. A study was, therefore, carried out to find out the prevalence of alpha-thalassaemia gene in the population of northern Pakistan by estimating the concentration of Hb Bart's in 500 cord blood samples during the period 1986-87 at AFIP Rawalpindi. Hb Bart's was detected in 12 neonates, thus indicating a rate of 2.4% of general population as carrier of alpha-thalassaemia gene. Two distinct groups were recognized. The first group was composed of 9 (75%) neonates, in which Hb Bart's levels varied between 2.0% to 3.5%, while the second group of 3 neonates (25%) showed a level of 5.8% to 6.3%. The former group was considered to be carrying alpha-thalassaemia-2 gene and the latter group as carrier of alpha-thalassaemia-1 gene. Neither Hb H disease nor Hb Bart's hydrops foetalis syndrome was detected in this series.