Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe dissertation is composed of three papers that tackle income-distribution issues through three episodes of the U.S. economy. The first essay investigates the dynamics of income distribution, debt, and growth applying a post-Keynesian approach to the era leading to the Great Depression. It uses the single equation error correction model method to determine the demand regime of the 1900-1929 period. The second paper sets up a model that incorporates income distribution and the accelerator relationship to explain investment behavior in the 1960-2015 period. It uses time series techniques to explore the statistical causality among investment spending, profit share, and capacity utilization. The third essay investigates the drivers of the Farmers Protest Movement in the late nineteenth century. It investigates the trends of the farmers' consumption habits, income, and production prices, in addition to the dynamics of land market. It concludes that the farmers were worse off economically, which explains their protest movement in the late nineteenth century

Determination Of Plasma Metabolites, Its Related Metabolomic Pathways And Correlation With Clinical Parameters Of Cognitive Frailty And Mild Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive frailty (CF) has evolved over recent years, initially used to describe the co-occurrence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical frailty without dementia. Population ageing is occurring globally, and Malaysia has the most rapidly growing older population. CF in old age is likely to become of increasing importance. Metabolomics is a novel scientific discipline that may provide a novel method for diagnosing CF using a sensitive and specific technique such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This study aims to identify metabolic fingerprints that can be used to distinguish subjects with CF from MCI and robust (healthy group), to explore the pathway of the identified metabolites, and to explore the correlations between the identified biomarkers and the clinical data related to CF and MCI. Blood samples were collected from 56 CF (mean age: 72.6 years), 75 MCI (mean age: 65.1 years), and 78 robust (mean age: 63.3 years). Plasma was separated by centrifugation, and then plasma samples were mixed with phosphate buffer and analyzed using NMR spectroscopy. Data analysis was done using multivariate analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square discriminate analysis (PLS-DA). For discrimination between CF and robust, the PLS-DA model showed sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 66.1%, 67.9%, and 65%, respectively

LI-AODV: lifetime improving AODV routing for detecting and removing black-hole attack from VANET

Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) is an emerging technology and is an application of Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET). So it has same characteristics like wireless medium, dynamic topology, collision interference. Objective of VANET is to create and provide communications among group of vehicles without any central base station. An attack like Black hole in VANET is a main issue that degrades performance of whole network. Many existing algorithms tried to solve this issue but not completely. In order to solve above problems in VANET from black hole attack, we propose a new routing protocol named Lifetime Improving Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector (LI-AODV). To reduce overload in routing process we introduce a scheduling algorithm named Hybrid Round Robin with Highest Response Ratio Next (HRRHRRN). To prevent the network from Black hole attack we propose a new security algorithm called HMAC-SHA3-384 which is a combination of SHA3-384 and HMAC. This LI-AODV achieves better performance in lifetime of the network, reduces black hole attack, End-to-End delay, throughput, packet loss, Packet delivery ratio. Our experimental procedure provides efficient identification and removal of black hole attack in urban VANET

Heteroleptic Copper(I) Complexes of "Scorpionate" Bis-pyrazolyl Carboxylate Ligand with Auxiliary Phosphine as Potential Anticancer Agents: An Insight into Cytotoxic Mode

New copper(I) complexes [CuCl(PPh3)(L)] (1: L = LA = 4-carboxyphenyl)bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)methane; (2: L = LB = 3-carboxyphenyl)bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)methane) were prepared and characterised by elemental analysis and various spectroscopic techniques such as FT-IR, NMR, UV-Vis, and ESI-MS. The molecular structures of complexes 1 and 2 were analyzed by theoretical B3LYP/DFT method. Furthermore, in vitro DNA binding studies were carried out to check the ability of complexes 1 and 2 to interact with native calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) using absorption titration, fluorescence quenching and circular dichroism, which is indicative of more avid binding of the complex 1. Moreover, DNA mobility assay was also conducted to study the concentration-dependent cleavage pattern of pBR322 DNA by complex 1, and the role of ROS species to have a mechanistic insight on the cleavage pattern, which ascertained substantial roles by both hydrolytic and oxidative pathways. Additionally, we analyzed the potential of the interaction of complex 1 with DNA and enzyme (Topo I and II) with the aid of molecular modeling. Furthermore, cytotoxic activity of complex 1 was tested against HepG2 cancer cell lines. Thus, the potential of the complex 1 is promising though further in vivo investigations may be required before subjecting it to clinical trials

Obesity-related kidney disease: Beyond hypertension and insulin-resistance

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes considerable morbidity, mortality, and health expenditures worldwide. Obesity is a significant risk factor for CKD development, partially explained by the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in obese patients. However, adipocytes also possess potent endocrine functions, secreting a myriad of cytokines and adipokines that contribute to insulin resistance and induce a chronic low-grade inflammatory state thereby damaging the kidney. CKD development itself is associated with various metabolic alterations that exacerbate adipose tissue dysfunction and insulin resistance. This adipose-renal axis is a major focus of current research, given the rising incidence of CKD and obesity. Cellular senescence is a biologic hallmark of aging, and age is another significant risk factor for obesity and CKD. An elevated senescent cell burden in adipose tissue predicts renal dysfunction in animal models, and senotherapies may alleviate these phenotypes. In this review, we discuss the direct mechanisms by which adipose tissue contributes to CKD development, emphasizing the potential clinical importance of such pathways in augmenting the care of CKD

SARS-CoV-2 epitopes inform future vaccination strategies

All currently approved COVID-19 vaccines utilize the spike protein as their immunogen. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) contain mutations in the spike protein, enabling them to escape infection- and vaccination-induced immune responses to cause reinfection. New vaccines are hence being researched intensively. Studying SARS-CoV-2 epitopes is essential for vaccine design, as identifying targets of broadly neutralizing antibody responses and immunodominant T-cell epitopes reveal candidates for inclusion in next-generation COVID-19 vaccines. We summarize the major studies which have reported on SARS-CoV-2 antibody and T-cell epitopes thus far. These results suggest that a future of pan-coronavirus vaccines, which not only protect against SARS-CoV-2 but numerous other coronaviruses, may be possible. The T-cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 have gotten less attention than neutralizing antibody epitopes but may provide new strategies to control SARS-CoV-2 infection. T-cells target many SARS-CoV-2 antigens other than spike, recognizing numerous epitopes within these antigens, thereby limiting the chance of immune escape by VOCs that mainly possess spike protein mutations. Therefore, augmenting vaccination-induced T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 may provide adequate protection despite broad antibody escape by VOCs

Global injury morbidity and mortality from 1990 to 2017: Results from the global burden of disease study 2017

Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care

Neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality and morbidity burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

Objectives Although substantial reductions in under-5 mortality have been observed during the past 35 years, progress in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has been uneven. This paper provides an overview of child mortality and morbidity in the EMR based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Methods We used GBD 2015 study results to explore under-5 mortality and morbidity in EMR countries. Results In 2015, 755,844 (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 712,064–801,565) children under 5 died in the EMR. In the early neonatal category, deaths in the EMR decreased by 22.4%, compared to 42.4% globally. The rate of years of life lost per 100,000 population under 5 decreased 54.38% from 177,537 (173,812–181,463) in 1990 to 80,985 (76,308–85,876) in 2015; the rate of years lived with disability decreased by 0.57% in the EMR compared to 9.97% globally. Conclusions Our findings call for accelerated action to decrease child morbidity and mortality in the EMR. Governments and organizations should coordinate efforts to address this burden. Political commitment is needed to ensure that child health receives the resources needed to end preventable deaths